Introduction To The Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster

Okay, the latest craze at the moment is the Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster. They are a cute, cuddly little toy that every kid is going to want this Christmas.

They are also one of the most innovative toy that's been released for a long time. They're exciting enough to actually make me want to blog about them!

What's So Special About Zhu Zhu Pets?

Well they are 'intelligent' - they act in a very similar fashion to real hamsters. They are basically an electronic hamster: They react intelligently to their environment, they can go to sleep, they even love being hugged!

The Official Ad For Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters

Before I go further, here's the official ad for Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters:

That should have give you a taste of these special little hamster toys. Sold already? Then skip to our page outlining the full range of Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster products.

Who Are The Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters

There are four different Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters, called Chunk, Pipsqueak, Mr. Squiggles and Num Nums. Each of these have a unique personality - here are their official descriptions:

• Chunk: Whoa, dude! This laid-back surf hamster is famous for chillin' out, hanging back, and layin' low. But when he gets a whiff of some slammin' surf, he's off and running! Don't spare the hugs for this rad rodent. He lives to feel the love. Buy Chunk on Amazon
• Pipsqueak: She may be sweet and small, but this petite powerhouse isn't afraid of anything. A daredevil with the curiosity of a dozen cats, Pipsqueak loves to play, explore, run, and slide. Just give her some wiggle room and watch her do her stuff. Buy Pipsqueek on Amazon
• Mr. Squiggles: Mr. Squiggles is the fussy and finicky hamster who's been there, done that, and lived to tell about it. Get out of his way! He's a hamster on a mission: Explore Galore, then explore some more! Love him, watch him go, just don't call him cute. Buy Mr Squiggles on Amazon
• Num Num: If there's something yummy in the area, this cutie will track it down! Num Nums' a super fuzzy friend you can depend on for laughs and love. Her highly trained sniffer can detect a carrot from a mile away, so stand back and watch her scoot to find some munchies! Buy Num Nums on Amazon

So they all have different personalities and behave very differently from each other. Cool!

Extended Playtime

But what's even better is that a single hamster will behave differently over time. There's none of that boredom with a toy that sinks in once the child has learnt all the possible actions of a toy - this toy will behave subtly differently every time a child pays with it, extending the amount of use the toy will actually receive. They really will give your child hours and hours of fun - perhaps even months and months of fun.

That's always a good thing for parents - who wants to buy a toy for their child only to find it's not used after the first couple of days! You won't have that problem with a Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster.

Information About The Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters

Here is some basics I should give you:

• Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters are for 3 to 10 year old children.
• They work on AAA batteries (two required for each hamster).
• There is a whole range of pricing, depending on exactly what you want to buy. I'll cover all of the options in the near future, including the pricing. When I'm a bit more organised, I may even come back to this post and update the pricing here, for anyone who stumbles across this post later - we'll see!

I better explain that Zhu Zhu Pets have different modes: Nurture and Explore. In Nurture mode they respond to hugs and petting with squeaking and chattering. In Explore mode, they'll run around, scampering about, bumping into things, turning around and generally, well, exploring!

Accessories For The Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters

There's a whole range of accessories that you can buy, which extend playtime even more. I'll be covering the accessories more on a later post, but they include:

• Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster Funhouse
• Hamster Car and Garage
• Hamster Wheel and Tunnel
• Hamster Starter Set

And things such as skateboards, snowboards and an adventure ball which the pet hamsters run around in (like a mouse wheel, only a ball that runs around the floor as the Zhu Zhu Pets run around inside).

For a full list of Zhu Zhu Pets Accessories see our Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster products page.

Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster As A Virtual Pet

Of course, you don't need all the extras - just having a single hamster as a virtual pet will be a good experience for your child. I've heard Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters described as a virtual pet with all the benefits of a real pet, but without all the mess!

Now while I can see the benefit in not having to fork out for pet food, not to mention not having to actually feed them, clean up their poo, change their cage, take them to the vet, etc, I'd stop short of recommending these as a replacement for a real live pet. I think it would be better for kids to have the real thing.

That said, it's not always possible to have the real thing in the modern life we lead, and in such cases, this is the next best thing.

Final Thoughts

Of course they're great fun too - you're kids are going to love them and at the end of the day, that's the most important thing, isn't it?

Anyway, I love these cute little Zhu Zhu Pets and you will too, and I'll be back to write more about them sometime in the near future!