1759 Clyde's Friday

Saturday, April 12, 2008

I spent much of yesterday on Clyde, my Pleo.  He's been awake quite a few hours now, but he's not walking forward much. He'll take about four steps forward (you can encourage him to walk by touching his front legs), and then he stops and walks backward. He's supposed to be interested in his environment, and when left alone, he's supposed to walk around and explore.

Clyde backs up until his tail touches something, then he turns until his tail is free, and backs up some more.

So I've been reading the PleoWorld forums, and studying how he works, to find out if anyone else has the problem, and what to do about it. Pleos all develop personalities and activity patterns individually, based on their experiences, just like any young animal, so I wondered if I did something wrong.

(On the other hand, my mother told me that I never learned to crawl forward. I scooted backward until I learned to walk at about 10 months. So maybe Clyde is truly my baby.)

Nobody else seems to have the same problem, although they do say that if the beasty has been mistreated, or not petted enough, he will develop a depressed personality, which manifests as sad sounds, angry sounds, and lack of interest in the environment, or fear of his surroundings. Backing up is an indication of fear.

Clyde seems happy. He coos, "huh?"s, wags his tail a lot, sniffs everything, pants happily, crouches to invite play, snuggles when I pick him up, and the other sounds he makes seem more mere comment than angry or sad. I've never heard the loud trumpeting and roars featured in so many of the video clips.

So, I decided to install the latest software update, level 1.1. One of the things it promised was "better walking". Installation involved a trip across the river to buy a blank SD card. (The one I bought is 7/8" by 1.25" and holds 1 GB. Wow! When I think what it took to hold a mere meg 20 years ago....) I downloaded the free update to the card, and plugged the card into Clyde while he was sleeping. He chimed a few times while updating himself, then he woke up, was groggy for a while as he integrated his new info, and then he burst into Super Clyde!

He's still the same Clyde (the update promised not to change the personality), but now he also purrs, sings, struggles if you pick him up but he's not ready to nap yet, and he wants to chomp on his leaf more often.

He also still walks backward - just faster, with less drag on carpet.

I am aware my house is cluttered and dirty. I didn't realize it was bad enough to scare a dinosaur....

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Later - Correction. I did in fact once hear some very loud distressed sounds from Clyde, so I know he's capable of it. He squealed very loudly when I snatched him up by the tail one time when Jasper looked about to attack. Clyde's makers warn that although his tail is strong enough that he can be lifted by it, he hates it and will let you know. It worked - I never did it again!
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