Zhu Zhu Hamster Toys - Do They Break Easily?

One of the constant parental hates that eventually comes to all parents, is that there seems to be a constant stream of toys that we buy that, well, just break after only a few days of use, or worse still were just never right in the first place. With Zhu Zhu Pets hamsters (often pronounced as Zoo Zoo Pets hamsters or Zu Zu Pets hamsters) toys with all their fancy built in electronics and interactive capabilities, starting at a mere $7, many parents, myself included, were wondering whether compromises were made in order to keep the retail price so low and whether the numerous hamster accessories that are available really do stand up to the inevitable kid abuse.

Zhu Zhu hamster toys have already sold in absolute staggering volumes and we are still months away from Christmas. So it is safe to assume that the hamsters themselves have all undergone the ultimate live kid testing on a mass scale. What is surprising, therefore, is that it is really hard to find any parent or customer complaints about their child's hamster failing or falling apart. The only comment that comes close is made by a few parents about the fact that since buying the Zhu Zhu hamster toy, their child has not stopped playing with it, which has meant a need to change the batteries as the hamster slows to a slow motion crawl. I think it is safe to say that this will be the case with all battery powered toys today and a set of rechargeable batteries would be a sound investment. So it would seem that the hamsters themselves, when it comes to quality of build and durability in the hands of children scores highly.

The numerous Zhu Zhu hamster toy accessories, unfortunately, score a little bit differently. There are a number of comments that the plastic that most of the add-on accessories are made from could be tougher and more robust. I don't know whether I share this same opinion, knowing that stronger weight plastic would simply add to the overall fabrication costs and lead to higher prices. In my opinion, the quality of the plastic is perfectly fit for purpose, but no, it will not stand up to your 8 year old son jumping up and down on top of it.

Some parents make comments that the plastic clips to integrate the various accessories together are a bit flimsy and I would tend to agree, but they do the job and I have not experienced any consequential issues or read about any from other parents that have bought hamster accessories.

The only hamster accessory that has received enough criticism for the same issue, that it becomes warranted, is the hamster car and garage set. A large number of people seem to have a problem with the garage doors. Whether it be that they don't swing open properly, do not fit properly or indeed that they fall off altogether as their hamster zooms through. I have not had any personal experience with this accessory myself, as my children have not wanted it...as yet...if they did, I would probably still buy it and use a bit of glue or tape if it was needed!

All of the other accessories as individual items really do have very few criticisms about them in terms of poor quality build, so it can be assumed that parents and kids alike are perfectly happy with them. This is in itself is pretty outstanding achievement for a new toy that has been sold so widely.