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My cacti stopped spiking me , I think they must really like me to go that far


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ok I've definitely given every last ounce of love I have spare to my cacti... they used to prickle me really bad at first ..

but last time I repotted them , not one of them that stabbed me hurt this time... nor when i reach around them to open and close windows

....

Either my skin has hardened up to them, or

my nerves have fucked off south from the surface of my skin..., or

I've "sanded" down the spines ... perhaps causing them to blunten .... what with my having been stabbed so much already

or they must really love me ... I like to think it's the latter myself ... since the newest trichos fell over yesterday in the cuttings pot

and the only thing I had to catch them in a split second including a pre-emptive wince.... was my bare hand .... even that didnt hurt..

wtf?

perhaps my skin developed new spidey senses a bit like parking sensors detect obstacles or potential collision material?

Has anyone else noticed the phenomenom of previously-defensive cacti becoming more docile and gentle over time ...with regards to handling?

Edited by ☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ
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i had a cuzcoensis rooting and I chucked it outside it fell onto my hand and my hand is still having problems. I missed a day of work and couldnt move my thumb for weeks.

Just because it didn't hurt this time doesn't mean it won't again

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eek sorry to hear about your hand,

wishing you speedy passage thru the injury..

I'll be sure to vigilant /let the next one hit the deck in future

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I still get poked daily, but it doesn't bother me as much anymore. Glochids in my hands used to really bother me but I don't really care now. Lol.

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Naw, at least my plants didn't get more gentle, it's just that I'm used to it, but I did just dig one out of my piggy that "had none" which was a full centimeter long. Took over two weeks of pain to loosen up, but it's better now. Bad cactus!

~Michael~

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but I did just dig one out of my piggy that "had none" which was a full centimeter long.

you leave the reader to determine which body part is your 'piggy' ?

you're not talking about your head are you?.........

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Yeah I noticed this happen too Thunderhorse, and know of atleast two other collectors who have experienced the same. It was after about 2 years of manic collecting and tending, I had become so used to getting spiked that it stopped hurting and just became a weird but normal sensation. I could even notice the tiniest little prick as I began to stand on one and could decrease the weight that would have pushed it right into my foot, and as a result even tho i was standing on them quite often I never seemed to get hurt anymore.

I've also instinctively reached out to catch falling cacti a number of times now and not been hurt.. stabbed, yeah, but as long as it didn't snap off and came out on the same angle it didn't seem to be a worry. Maybe it's just heightened awareness of those particular sensations, and that somehow gradually relaxes your natural pain response because its not perceived as as much of a danger anymore.. Normalised.

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bogfrog ... maybe we unlocked some codons of our dna to activate said magickal phenomenae , hopefully cristate wolverine claws might come soon :3

hostilis ... maybe you too "as above" without realising it, mind you I dont do glochids much , I tend to let nature deal with my opuntias and pere's outside

most gratefully

zelly and M.S. Smith.... sure it wasn the little piggy that went to cuzco market , the little piggy who stayed home...or the little piggy who had roast beef?

<___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_tongue.png

glaukus.... hope your foot heals quick

Edited by ☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ
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I'm surprised to hear y'all are getting spiked regularly haha...I had a decent cacti collection for a number of years (some of which were quite spiny) and only got a light prick once or twice. You know you're not supposed to handle them by the spikey bits right? <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_tongue.png

/endgloat

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Never had any cacti poke me. I don't know if it's out of love or my carefulness ^^. When I carry cuts I usually do so open palms. My sharpest is Serra Blue and I still carry her this way. The more spikes I can fit on my hand the better. More spikes = more surface area for the cut to put their weight on. My cuts with longer spines like Lumberjack I grab between the spines since it's harder to get enough spines on my hands to handle the weight.

I've never really had problems with peres either, and I grab them rather carelessly.

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I once dropped a heavy peruvianus cutting with big spines on my foot from a standing position. Did not feel very good.

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I think it's just that you get used to and more skilled at handling them over time leading to less inpalements lol pain is a great teacher.

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no way incog, it's definitely that the cacti consciously choose to stop telepathically controlling your body movements in order that you don't flail yourself around or grab onto their spines & get spiked any more because they love you.. der

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Don't get cocky there! ;)

Bah. Come at me cactus, I say!

https://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://www.cccathospital.com/static/media/uploads/blog/.thumbnails/cat-eats-cactus-600x398-600x0.jpg&key=13acb6e695cd8916536eb5f298c80134efc17c58f3d9ee3bf382171d1805a439

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Wow, badass kitty!

I still get poked pretty frequently - It doesn't bother me much unless the spine breaks off in my hand and I can't get it out.. I can usually get them with a utility knife blade but sometimes they're too deep and I wind up having to wear a bandaid after the failed surgery..

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My x used to say I have stuffed all me nerves in my hands... I think she was right im constantly digging large spines out that I didnt know where there. 10 years of working with cacti and cycads (worse than cacti) will do that I suppose lol

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