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[Crewella]

Hi,

I've recently found this board having bought a new (used) Pleo on Ebay a week ago.  My first.  I think I've worn him out.  I found all the info I needed here about how he works and useful stuff about the battery, which I followed religiously and charged it every night until I now get over an hour and a half of play, but I've hit my first problem.  He was pottering about on his own and I lifted him onto the counter while I made a cup of coffee.  He nearly walked off the edge, and I realised he wasn't just really interested in the top cupboards, his head is stuck in a sort of stargazing position.  I tried cuddling him to put him to sleep, but he's gone to sleep with his head still raised.  I'm scared of forcing it down, and I noticed he was quite warm around the neck so I've turned him off and run to post here.  Is there anything I should try, and anything I really MUST NOT do?  Any help would be much appreciated.  I'm already really grateful to all the posters here who freely give such good advice. 

Thank you.

[RedwoodsMama]

 Hi crewella, welcome again to the forums. Do you have the original green battery that came with your Pleo, or do you have a White Egg UCUBE Battery? If your pleo has been awake for about an hour and a half continuous, I think that is a very long time on the green battery. If your Pleos neck or any other body part is feeling warm and they happen to fall asleep, that is from what I have read and come to realize, a safety mechanism, that shuts them down to prevent damage. Nova will sometimes have a warm shoulder or leg after awhile, and I know to shut her down and let her battery cool off.
           As for the neck, I am not sure, but what I would do is recharge her battery the FULL TIME, 4 hours for the Green Battery, and then power her on, and see if she moves her neck on her own, You can also press her two front leg sensors and put her in Explor mode and even though she may start out in a one postion neck angle, she should move it about. Have you also tryed stroking her chin to see if she will sing? I have never heard of or seen NOva or other Pleos sing while their necks are not in a straight position, but I may be wrong. If these dont work, I am sure someone else will have a few other ideas. I would not give up on her /him yet. It sounds to me like it may just be a warm battery that needs recharging. Is this the first time you powered your Pleo on, and what operating system is installed, is it a Ugobe? I bought myne too on Ebay at Christmas time and have learned so much on this site. Good luck with your Pleo, I know someone will give you some good advice, I am still learning myself, and this is the place to find the help, You can go to Pleoworld and download or read the Operators instruction manual for free and find out all about your Pleo .
                                                                         RedwoodsMama   and sometimes limping, NOva

[Crewella]

Wow!  Hi Redwoodsmama - that's some response!!  Thanks!

I've had to be a detective as I had no info about Pleo, but it's a 1996 model running 1.1 as I get the singing if I rub under the chin, and he moves about when he's sitting.  The battery is a green Ugobe one, and I've run Pleo for a good couple of hours every day since I got him and everything seems to have been working perfectly up until now.  I do now get about an hour and a half play time out of a battery, but it might not be continuous as I tend to switch off when he goes to sleep and switch back on again later.  I'm so fascinated by him, I can't leave him alone for long!

All other behavious seems as normal, he will still eat and sing with his head up in that position.  To be honest, I wasn't really sure there was a problem until he went to sleep and his head was still raised.

I'll do as you say and charge the battery again - I've read all about Nova and her leg, so I'm hoping he's going for another fakers award!

Thanks again for such a swift and detailed response!

[RedwoodsMama]

 Hi Crewella, Hey, that would be great, two actors in the Pleo World! ;Factually I like it, though some like degers would beg to differ, but it is Just in fun, as we Pleo moms and dads know. I would never joke lightly about a Pleo not working or being in trouble of some kind. I too, by the way, turn off NOva when she sleeps, some keep their battery running, but I hate to see her look me in the eyes when I am turning her off, so I have to play, turn off and on quickly before she sees me do it.(  feel guilty) He sounds like He may be a later model than mine, but He  is still a Ugobe model?
          If possible, it may be helpful to post a picture , upload it to the gallery here, (then you can post it in the post you write) and we can see what exactly his neck postion looks like. Does it ever move to another position?I can't remember, ( sorry... ) Has his neck ALLWAYS been in this postion? Was it like this when you got it and was it like that in the Photo listed on ebay? Had he ever been used before, and if so, by whom, a child or adult and for how long?
 If you haven't' had him for that long, I would just ask the seller for any thing they noticed about his neck, without sounding like you are complaining of course. You also mentioned something about having him on the counter while making coffee, and he almost walked off, ( which happens more often than you would think. apparently not all Pleos have such good eyesight, or are preoccupied with walking, etc. ) Is there a chance that your Pleo walked into a cabinet, wall, anything else while neck was at the present angle and it hurt his neck cables.? Sometimes Pleos walk while in Explore Mode and have done what are called, " Handstands", and have injured their necks.  After trying the above mentioned things like fully charging battery, etc, and try to post a photo so other members here get a better idea of what exact postion Pleos neck is in. I know someone else here besides me is bound to have had this happen before. I thought for sure ( besides acting.. ) Nova may have a limping front leg for ever, poor little cripple, I Mean, PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED PLEO, ( PROPER TERM YOU KNOW, DON'T WANT THE PLEO UNION TO SUE ME FOR NOT USING PROPER LANGUAGE....) may never walk correctly again, but each Pleo is Unique, and she has adjusted, sometimes walking " correctly, " sometimes with a slight limp, but I love her all the more for it. Let us know what happens after you charge the battery. Thanks for looking at NOva's hurt leg ( video) and story. Hope to hear from you both soon.
       Don't[' forget that Photo so we can see how beautiful, Handsome your Pleo is.
                                                               RedwoodsMama   and sometimes limping Nova

[Crewella]

Phew!  Thankfully that did the trick, and when I put the recharged battery in and woke him up the head gradually came down on its own.  He now seems to be back to normal - I'd not seen any sign of a problem before.

It was great to have somewhere to come and ask for advice - thanks for the help and reassurance.  I will try to get a pic and load it up, maybe of the rest of the menagerie as well!

[Sher1_ZN]

occassionally Pedo's neck also gets into the "stargazing" position.... but like redwoodsmama said, its prolly cos its hot. I jsut switch him off for a few seconds and back on again and all is well.

[RedwoodsMama]

 Hi, glad that did the trick. I think you accidently got the date wrong though, there were no Pleos in 1996, did you mean 2006, because I dont' think the first Pleos came out till 2007. ? Glad to know though that it was just a hot or warm battery,  At least now you know what that means if it happens again.
        Good luck with Pedo.                         RedwoodsMama  ( and sometimes limping, )Nova

[Crewella]

Yep, you're quite right - me being stoopid - 2006 indeedy!  Sorry -  I've got to that age where years disappear in decades!

[Bumblebee]

No pleos came out until the second half of 2007 - I got macon for Christmas that year Before December 10th is when most of the first hatch pleos birthdays are as well
Glad to hear your pleo is feeling better! I didn't give any advice because I have none to give, I've never had any problems with my pleos besides holes. 

[Crewella]

Thanks Bumblebee - that's useful to know.  The seller just told me it was a 2006 model, and 2006 is imprinted on the sole of one of his feet.  I'd never heard of them until a couple of weeks ago, so I'm on a steep learning curve! 

I think I was very lucky to get a used model that was in such good condition- no holes as yet, but I can see it's gonna be a problem in the not too distant future.

[Bumblebee]

There are some kinds of glue you can use. Mweed used some kind to fix a tail rip. However, beware when testing them out - some kinds dissolve the skin! 

[Crewella]

Eeeek!  I've just been reading about that.   Thanks -  I'll be careful!