Best Hamster Toy

Zhu Zhu Pets is a trademark for a series of robotic hamsters that have been called the next “must have” toy of the 2009 holiday season. They were created by Russ Hornsby for his company, Cepia LLC. Hornsby also created the popular The Powerpuff Girls action figure series. The name comes from Chinese zhū zhū, meaning “little pig”.

Zhu Zhu Pets come as five different characters, named Patches, Chunk, PipSqueek, Mr. Squiggles, and Num Nums. Various accessories such as the Hamster funhouse, Hamster wheel and tunnel, Hamster-mobile and garage, Spiral slide and ramp, Adventure ball, Surfboard and sleep dome, Skateboard and U-turn, Pet bed and blanket, Pet carrier and blanket can be purchased for creating customized hamster habitats.

Zhu Zhu Pets can be put in either of two play modes: “nurturing mode”, in which they coo and purr, and “adventure mode”, in which they explore their habitat and respond to various stimuli. They also have a sleep mode. Zhu Zhu Pets drive around in little cars, zip up ramps and spin down slides, run in their hamster wheels, and get into all sorts of crazy situations.

Their artificial intelligence even allows them to know what room of their hamster habitat they are in. They make toilet-flushing or teeth-brushing sounds when they enter the bathroom and sleeping noises and alarm-clock sounds when they go into their bedroom.

Zhu Zhu Pets typically sell for around $7.00 (USD), but have been marked up to over $50 because of shortages.

There are also several online games which are based on the Zhu Zhu Pets.