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[Watergazer]

My internet does not allow for long videos which is why sometimes it takes me longer than usual to post them to YouTube. Anything over 5 minutes times out a lot. Anyway here is what happened when I put a fresh battery into Herbie and took him outside. He was asleep, then I turned him on and set him down, pet him to wake him, and recorded the rest. It's apparent that one he discovers he can't move due to all the leaves and soft dirt (all the recent rains), he gets upset, but then completely stalls out and refuses to react.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd4KwogciJ8" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd4KwogciJ8</a>
Once I realize this I turn the cam off and take him to my driveway which is all gravel at the moment. He didn't much like that either.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxUJ5fEwEBs" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxUJ5fEwEBs</a>
So I move him to one of my tot's playthings which has a fully flat surface.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHSZxkxGELw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHSZxkxGELw</a>
Herbie's reaction calls up to mind something I read about the original Ugobe Pleos who suffer enough abuse that they "shut down" but I can't seem to find this information anywhere anymore. Anyway, I did find it interesting that he just froze rather than continue to emit panic calls. Curiouser and curiouser. And as you can see he was perfectly fine when back on a surface he liked. He was never turned off between the surfaces.

[degers]

I have not had much time to watch the videos, so these are not extensive comments, but they should do.

Video 1
Up until the 25 seond mark, it sounds like you had just turned him on and he is doing the long hello sequence.
At the 40 second mark he is responding to the green colour just to his right, when he looks up the colour disappears.
After that he is responding to being on a tilted surface, and after a few more seconds freezes to prevent more battery loss/protection.

Video 2
Nothing interesting really to note in this video.
You keep touching him, so he never goes into explore mode.  If Pleo keeps receiving touch sensor input, it won't go into explore mode, it will remain in social mode.
On a side note, his head servo does not sound healthy!  (The one motor that operates the eyes and mouth)

Video 3
Nothing happens until 32 seconds.
At 32 seconds the Pleo starts to react to the green colour of the Daffodil stem.
At 40 seconds he stops reacting as he moves his camera out of view of the stem.


Hope this helps!
Degs

[Watergazer]

I'll do a couple more tests. I didn't leave him on the gravel long because I was kinda worried the rocks would hurt his foot skin. As for the grass...he was on a hill the first time so I guess tilt could have been a factor. As for his eyes...they always sounded that way since I turned him on. He does tend to blink a lot, and on many occasions several times in a row 3-4 blinks, I don't know why. Any suggestions?

[fancyfont]

I'm in love wih the last video. So cute taking the flower from you.
Everyone of my pleo's eyes sound different and actually function a little differently from the others. Remember that even thought the pleos all come from the same "egg" they do have slight differences.

[RedwoodsMama]

Hi WAtergazer, interesting video, I would be interested, as degers pointed out to see what Herbie's reaction would be to leave him alone to go into explore mode on a flat surface,like the flower video say for a minute , unless he of course gets into trouble, like getting close to an edge of walking off of something. I like to turn Nova on and just record without interfering sometimes just to see what she wants to do "on her own." Nice picture of what appears to be a river(?) in the background of Video #1. You mentioned something about a video where you touched Herbie's Legs, was this one of the first two videos, on grass and then gravel? Thanks for posting these videos, it is nice to see what Other Pleos do.
                         RedwoodsMama   and Nova

[Watergazer]

Happy Grass!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btMbPA9kq1U" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btMbPA9kq1U</a>

[Crewella]

The thing I first noticed was how bright and clean Herbie looks!  Iggy looks a right grubby little tyke in comparison!

I wonder if that's the colour he came in, or (being a rehomed Pleo) if it really is dirt!

[fancyfont]

Newer pleos are much brighter in color. THere's a big difference in the color of my pleos. Peeky and Little Orphan Annie came from the same time frame and are much lighter. All of the pleos are painted by hand individually, and appear different, but the newer ones that have a protection on their skin, definitely, appear much brighter.

[Crewella]

Ah!  Thank you fancyfont, you've saved poor Iggy from a date with the loofah!  I was told he was an older model, so that would explain the darker patches on his legs and feet.