The truth is that the hole was formed from vomiting after he ate a burger with ghost pepper puree.
I thought they had it after that and were reduced to just stems but with my persistence I kept them indoors throughout winter and to my amazement, they started sprouting new growth.
They require warm weather to grow optimally and may even need to be planted at specific times to do this.
How Hot is the Carolina Reaper Compared to a Ghost Pepper? I'm not sure if this is helping or not.