Some MORE Added Update at bottom of post and on Boymom blog!!!!! My Little Man loves him some animals. Creatures of every kind are interesting to him and we have had numerous discussions about what can and cannot come in the house to become a pet.
So far the only things that have made it throught the door are a lizard that he kept in an aquarium and our cat, Blackie Chan. He has BEGGED for a hamster and I have refused to allow one into my home, because I've had hamsters and I know how they smell!
Well, the good people at
MomSelect and
Cepia have solved one of my long standing pet issues and I have to say...I am grateful. Really, really grateful! Let me show you what we did last week:
(Couldn't get the party video to upload, but here's on of Little Man and the hamster with fresh batteries!)
Can I just say that
Go Go Pets Hamsters are one of the best toys to come along since the hoola hoop and Furbies!?! No kidding!
We had a
Go Go Pets Party and invited some friends over to try them out with us. Along with the hamsters, we also received a whole Hamster Playset so the kids could experience the hamsters in action. Word to the wise, some of the playset items take a bit of effort to put together. Not like backyard swingset effort, but a little bit of concentration and just a tiny bit of muscle. The playset is made of plastic and did not seem to be cheaply made. I was impressed by the fact that nothing broke on us after we had to take a few things apart after we put them together incorrectly.
The one negative comment I do have regarding the playset items is that the Adventure Ball kept coming apart. It is made of 2 halves that kind of just snap together, but it wasn't a tight fit and the kids got a little frustrated that it kept coming apart. I finally Super Glued it and it works fine now. But if I were spending money on it I would be a little miffed at having spent money on a toy that doesn't hold together well. Maybe mine was defective...don't know.
Anyway...everything else worked wonderfully and although the Hamsters don't go through the Playset as smoothly as the video on the GoGo Pets Website shows, they are still a lot of fun and the kids have had a blast playing with them. They can make over 40 little noises and Little Man takes his with him wherever he goes. The hamster chatter can get a little annoying after a while, but the hamsters shut down on their own after a short time, then there's a button on their back to start them up again.
There are 4 different colors of hamsters availble, each color has it's own name and personality. The Go Go Pets website has more information and some fun games that will help kids get to know their hamster better. The little accessories are fun, it is hilarious to see a hamster driving the little car around. All the kids at the party left with one and most of the parents were interested in picking up an accessory or two for their child. The Hamsters run about $7.99 each and you can pick one up, along with some of the Habitrail accessories at Walmart or Toys R Us.
What do I love most about Go Go Pets Hamsters? No food to buy, no cage to clean, no hamster poo to deal with. In fact, the sticker on the side of the box the toys came in says "Pets without Poop." It left the Fed-X guy who delivered the box scratching his head, so I had to explain the whole Smart Pet thing. He was pretty impressed. So am I. So are my kids and their friends. So are the friends' moms. That's alot of impressed and happy people! I think we have a winner here, folks!
Update: I received an email today from one of the engineers from Cepia, LLC - makers of Go Go Pets Hamsters. They addressed the Adventure Ball issue so that it doesn't come apart anymore and I will be testing the new design. I will post results after the test. But how great is it that they actually took the time to listen to consumers and fix the problem!? Also, I put fresh batteries in both our hamsters today and there was a WORLD of difference in how they performed on the Habitrail! They ran much faster and smoother through the Habitrail thing and my boys enjoyed them a lot more tonight.
Update on New Adventure Ball: Received the new ball last week and the changes that the engineers made were definitely an improvement! The ball has held together well without the Super Glue! I noticed the new one also included a stabilizer to put on the botton of the hamster to keep it from tipping over when it is in the ball, which they tend to do. The stabilizer helped with the tipping issue, but the hamster sometimes got hung up on the lid of the ball with the stabilizer on it. All in all though, the product was much better than the first ball we received. I want to thank Cepia LLC for listening to their consumers and making the necessary product changes to ensure that their customers get a decent product for their money!
The video game, Zhu Zhu Pets for Nintendo DS, allows players to care for and play with their favorite toys virtually. Players can race their hamsters through different mazes to collect carrots, coins and new hamster friends and babies. It's an endlessly enjoyable game that lets you have fun with Zhu Zhu Pets anywhere! Perfect for road trips or long waits at the Dr.'s office where the real Zhu Zhu pets can't roam!
