Available in white, yellow, brown and gray, Cepia's Zhu Zhu Pets, small robotic hamsters, promise to not "poop, stink or die", and bear names like Chunk, Pipsqueak, Squiggles and Numnums. These little things are making parents run around, desperately trying to get their hands on one for their kids who wouldn't settle for anything else. There is, therefore, no surprise that these have become the hottest toys of the Christmas season.

Priced at $9.95 a piece, these hamsters make as many as 40 different sounds depending upon where they are in their tiny hamster house, which is sold separately. According to the National Retail Federation, girls have particularly grown fond of the toy.

"Zhu Zhus are far and away the No. 1 item this year. We haven't been able to keep them in stock. We get them, and they're gone instantaneously. And not only the toys, but the accessories too", shared Peirce Andrews, Team Leader at Target in Cape Coral.

Zhu Zhu Pets, from the house of the 7 year old toy maker Cepia which has only 16 employees, has surprisingly grown to be the most popular play pet of the season, disappearing off shelves everywhere. While parents are willing to pay six times the original amount, which is being charged by online retailers, to get these hamsters as Christmas presents for their kids, the manufacturer is under increasing pressure to rev up the supply.