Zhu Zhu Hamster's wheels stopped rolling?

[TheLittleRoo]

My kids got four of these for Xmas and two of them have stopped rolling across the floor. The wheels simply don't turn. They still chirp from their back and nose activation buttons, but the wheels never engage. My kids are pretty bummed to have stationary hamsters.

Anyone else have their hamsters do this? Would you exchange them? I'm wondering if it's a matter of time until they all freeze up...

 

[r4blessings]

we also got four hamsters for christmas and one has just stopped working! Same thing, wheels won't turn, but everything else works.

DD was sad, but my ds11 gave her his. I guess he is too old for a zhu zhu, but Santa didn't want anyone to feel left out. But at least they are easier to find now (at least here on long island) so replacing for a reasonable price shouldn't be too hard.

 

[gymboqueenkaylee]

The do have batteries in them that you can replace. Have you tried that??

 

[scootch]

We have the spiral ramp and they can't get up it. Really poor toys... glad I only spent 40 on the ramp and two hamsters.

 

[PIERCEDRN]

When the batteries get low... way too quickly if you ask me... the wheels stop spinning but they will continue to make noise for a week later. Try replacing the batteries and see if that works, both of ours had to be replaced already.
BOB

 

[KristiMc]

Replace the batteries

 

[Jenn4615]

Ours did this when the batteries died... they were cheapo batteries that they came with... replace it will work!

 

[nancydrew79]

One of the hamsters my daughter got didnt work when it was opened. I loosened the battery door and it worked. So odd.

 

[r4blessings]

thanks for the tip about the batteries! I didn't think of that, b/c the hamster was still making its noises! Going off to switch them now! Thanks!

By the way, has anyone heard when the zhu zhu babies are coming out? Would be cute for Easter baskets! OMG....did I just say Easter basket already? I need to slow down!

 

[Jridou]

And didn't start up again with fresh batteries. We did a little zhu-zhu dissection and discovered a ton of hair wrapped around the wheel axle. I cut as much of it off with nail scissors as I could reach, but there's still a ton of hair in there mucking things up.

Amy

 

[r4blessings]

thanks everyone! Just switched out the batteries for fresh, and our zhu zhu is off! DD is so happy!

 

[mantaz]

By the way, has anyone heard when the zhu zhu babies are coming out? Would be cute for Easter baskets! OMG....did I just say Easter basket already? I need to slow down!

I was at Justice the other day in the mall and they already had the Zhu Zhu babies. I think they were 9.99 each.

 

[libinatorsmom]

Replace the batteries.... you batteries may just not have enough JUICE to spin the wheels... also check and see if there is anything lodged in the wheels... like carpet fibers etc...

 

[aimlyles]

Sometimes you can get them online at Justice as well. A friend of my mom's was able to get one at a CVS just before Christmas but I haven't seen anything at CVS since Christmas!

 

[my3squeals]

We found that the connector points on the inside of the the Zhu Zhu was not meeting. Most likely it had run off of a table or bed and bent the inside connection. We took a small tool and bent it out and the the little guy went along just fine after that. Just a bad connection..... Hope this helps.

 

[ccdoster]

That happened to us too. I only replaced the battery for the wheels. 2 AA batteries (one for sound and one for movement).

 

[auralia]

if the children try to push them backwords when they are trying to go forwards, or vise versa the gears will strip they are very simple plastic gears so they can't take much abuse.

 

[TheLittleRoo]

Ok, hope this helps someone!

We have about 8 hamsters now and two had stopped working. I knew there was hair wrapped around the wheels, and figured that was causing the problem.

First, we took out the screw for the battery compartment. Under that are four more screws that hold a cover over the motor and wheels compartment. Take those out and you'll see a divided holder; wheels on one side and tiny motor and driveshaft (!) on the other. Reach in and take out the wheel box. Most likely, you'll see even more hair once the cover is off! We used tweezers to just pick and pull until all the hair was off.

In order to put the wheels back in, you'll have to remove the motor too. You'll see how they connect to fit together back into their spot. Take a look at the contacts on the end with the motor. A few had low contacts and didn't touch their receivers inside the hamster shell. Tweezer these up higher.

Take a look at the P shaped receivers that fit the contacts - several of ours had sunk down too far and weren't connecting. Tweezers can fix this if you can reach them, otherwise thread floss through and tug them back into place.

My DS15 had a blast watching me take the first one apart, and then the old Tom Sawyer in me let the Huck Finn in him do the remaining 7 hamsters, zealously! It sounds more complicated to explain than it is to do.

Now our hamsters run FAST, still on their original batteries. This is just something we'll probably have to do from time to time to keep them running. Returning them as defective won't help the problem - - it's simply hair getting wrapped around the wheels which in my house will recur.

Have fun!

 

[DizzyFORDisney]

Ok, hope this helps someone!

We have about 8 hamsters now and two had stopped working. I knew there was hair wrapped around the wheels, and figured that was causing the problem.

First, we took out the screw for the battery compartment. Under that are four more screws that hold a cover over the motor and wheels compartment. Take those out and you'll see a divided holder; wheels on one side and tiny motor and driveshaft (!) on the other. Reach in and take out the wheel box. Most likely, you'll see even more hair once the cover is off! We used tweezers to just pick and pull until all the hair was off.

In order to put the wheels back in, you'll have to remove the motor too. You'll see how they connect to fit together back into their spot. Take a look at the contacts on the end with the motor. A few had low contacts and didn't touch their receivers inside the hamster shell. Tweezer these up higher.

Take a look at the P shaped receivers that fit the contacts - several of ours had sunk down too far and weren't connecting. Tweezers can fix this if you can reach them, otherwise thread floss through and tug them back into place.

My DS15 had a blast watching me take the first one apart, and then the old Tom Sawyer in me let the Huck Finn in him do the remaining 7 hamsters, zealously! It sounds more complicated to explain than it is to do.

Now our hamsters run FAST, still on their original batteries. This is just something we'll probably have to do from time to time to keep them running. Returning them as defective won't help the problem - - it's simply hair getting wrapped around the wheels which in my house will recur.

Have fun!

I did all of this too....but nothing worked so I actually wrote to the company and expressed my extreme dissatifaction with the product. Supposedly I should be receiving a replacement in the mail....we'll see!

 

[Sad cappuccino]

If even after cleaning the hair it doesnt move check the gear on the wheel shaft i was disappointed to find mine had 2 teeth missing from that gear preventing movement