This issue has come up in several other threads (such as the
Pleo Neck topic,
Pleo skin problems - holes!], etc.), so I've gathered a few bits and pieces here to go with some new photos I took:
My pleo has been sitting in sleeping position on a shelf in my bedroom for quite a while because I couldn't get him to work right. Reading the posts here I realize it's the battery problem so I took him down to work on the battery. I was shocked to see that he has two holes in his skin - one in his neck and one in his tail and every crease on his neck and tail is starting to tear!!! I can see his "bones" inside! He's just been SITTING in a totally safe place with nothing touching him! How can he get holes when he's just been sitting??? I am NOT happy.
All that said, the sleep position IS BAD for storing pleo when turned off. Not because of cable issues, but the SKIN!! The sleep position stretches the skin in the neck and tail, that over time may lead to growing rips and tears in the thin spots of the skin.
The best position for storing pleo from the persective of the skin is the packing position. This eliminates most (if not all) of the stretching of the skin.
To illustrate the problem, I just took these photos this morning. I updated Bob to the new LifeOS, and after updating, he went into the sleep position, which shows the problem very clearly...
The three main places on both the neck and tail where the skin is the thinnest (the dark green bands between the the light green "scales") are tearing open from the stress. The other thing to note is on the tail; the top break is not along one of these thin lines, it where the thicker skin stretches across the plastic vertebrae. The thin areas are tearing from the outside of the skin first, whereas the vertebrae is pushing up on the skin from the inside causing the tear.
Granted, Bob is a first hatch, so the skin is getting old, but be warned! don't store your pleo in sleep position!
