Hamster does everything except poo

Megan Tan, 8, called her Zhu Zhu Pets hamster Num Nums. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A toy craze that has swept the world will hit New Zealand on Monday in the form of a cheeky, interactive rodent.

Zhu Zhu Pets are a range of furry, battery-operated hamsters that caused a buying frenzy in the United States and Britain over Christmas - in the US, the average shelf time for a Zhu Zhu was between 30 seconds and three minutes.

Marketed as an alternative to live hamsters, the pets run on two modes, nurturing or adventure, and have more than 40 different sound effects activated by patting their backs, heads and noses.

Megan Tan, 8, was among the first to own a Zhu Zhu when her father brought one back from a trip to Singapore.

"I've called my hamster Num Nums. It's really like a real hamster, only cuter and cleaner because it doesn't do stuff like poo, but I wish it can have babies like my real pet rabbits so I can give them to my friends," said Megan.

She cannot wait until her friends get their own Zhu Zhus so they can play together.

The toys are targeted at children aged 4 to 10 and a long list of hamster accessories should keep parents reaching for their wallets.

Planet Fun is distributing the toy in New Zealand.

Chief executive Jeremy Kirk-Smith expects to sell between 150,000 and 200,000 pets this year at an estimated value of $8 million.

Around 8000 Zhu Zhus arrived in the first shipment with a second lined up for the end of next month.

The toy first hit stores in the middle of last year and so far sales have reached US$150 million worldwide. Mr Kirk-Smith expects sales to reach the $1 billion mark this year.

Before its release, creator Cepia was a tiny toy-maker operating out of St Louis in the US and by the end of this year it is predicted the company will be worth $500 million.

The company struggled to keep up with demand and this was why they took so long to get to New Zealand.

The Zhu Zhu Pets range is available from Monday, priced from $29.99.