It looks like it’s shriveled up and thirsty for water imo
MeaslyEights
That just looks incredibly thirsty more than anything else. If you are worried about the base near the soil line, it is probably just corking, a natural process where a cactus becomes more woody to provide structural support.
Competitive_Range822
Optunia hermosa? Definitely just very dry and ready for water. I’d up pot in a pre bought cactus mix (easiest to get without getting too overwhelming) and add in some perlite/pumice/grit. Anything inorganic maybe 50/50. Soak it well. My hermosa looked like this throughout the winter and is just now filling out. Optunia in general are gonna be your easiest cactus to start with because they do well with overwatering compared to other cactus
bigballenerg
Haha the tongs is brilliant! It’s just thirsty as other comments have said.
railgons
So many comments about them being thirsty and not a single comment mentioning dormancy.
What region did these get delivered from? If they came from somewhere with cooler temperatures, do not flood them with water and try to plump them up just yet. Many opuntia shed their water content and chemically change themselves to safeguard from freezing during the winter.
Some water won’t hurt, but they likely shouldn’t be soaked right away.
You’ll want to wake them up by keeping them warm.
ProbablyOnLSD69
Idk about the comments saying it’s just thirsty. Looks like “thirsty” was a long time ago imo. 🤷🏻♂️
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não é podridão
It looks like it’s shriveled up and thirsty for water imo
That just looks incredibly thirsty more than anything else. If you are worried about the base near the soil line, it is probably just corking, a natural process where a cactus becomes more woody to provide structural support.
Optunia hermosa? Definitely just very dry and ready for water. I’d up pot in a pre bought cactus mix (easiest to get without getting too overwhelming) and add in some perlite/pumice/grit. Anything inorganic maybe 50/50. Soak it well. My hermosa looked like this throughout the winter and is just now filling out. Optunia in general are gonna be your easiest cactus to start with because they do well with overwatering compared to other cactus
Haha the tongs is brilliant! It’s just thirsty as other comments have said.
So many comments about them being thirsty and not a single comment mentioning dormancy.
What region did these get delivered from? If they came from somewhere with cooler temperatures, do not flood them with water and try to plump them up just yet. Many opuntia shed their water content and chemically change themselves to safeguard from freezing during the winter.
Some water won’t hurt, but they likely shouldn’t be soaked right away.
You’ll want to wake them up by keeping them warm.
Idk about the comments saying it’s just thirsty. Looks like “thirsty” was a long time ago imo. 🤷🏻♂️
It’s corking and it’s dormant