What the heck is a Zhu Zhu pet hamster? If you haven't seen one in action but your child has been nagging to get one, this is one toy that you might want to put on your child's Christmas list and buy it early before prices skyrocket.

Here's the scoop on the this hamster: it's the latest battery operated pet that looks and acts like a real hamster but without the mess. Let's face it, real pets are the best, but who usually ends up cleaning up after them? I like the idea of having a pet who only needs batteries! It looks and feels like a real hamster and will run around the floor and make cooing and purring noises just like a real hamster. It will also interact with your child and make other noises if in its playhouse. You can even buy cute accessories for your pet hamster for hours of fun.

Here are a few of the pets to choose from:

1) Mr. Squiggles

Mr. Squiggles is light brown with white markings and a cute circular mark on his back. The "Houdini" of the zhu zhu pets, he's nicknamed Houdini because he likes to hide or play in his hamster ball.

2) Pip Squeak

Pip Squeak is light yellow with a perfect shooting star on her back. She is very sweet sweet and the smartest of the pets.

3) Num Nums

Num Nums is shy but sweet and cute as button with a dark grey coat and heart-shaped mark on her back.

4) Chunk

Cute but cool, Chunk is pure white with his own special symbol on his back.

As with real pet hamsters, you can buy accessories such as a hamster ball, hamster wheel, and hamster fun house. If your pet hamster behaves, you can also get additional accessories such as blankets, surfboards, sleep zone, and a car and garage.

If you do choose to buy an accessory for your hamster, choose the hamster fun house because it's programmed so when your pet hamster goes into certain rooms, it will interact with the built-in sensors and make room specific sounds. For instance, in the bathroom your hamster can make teeth brushing or toilet flushing sounds. In the bedroom he'll make alarm clock noises.

There are moving parts on these pet hamsters, so although cute, not recommended for kids under 3.