☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) 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 October 30, 2014 by ☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nailthesnail Posted October 30, 2014 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 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ Posted October 30, 2014 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 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hostilis Posted October 31, 2014 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. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M S Smith Posted October 31, 2014 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~ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zelly Posted November 1, 2014 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?......... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Strontium Dawg Posted November 1, 2014 I've still got pus coming out of my foot from a big spine I trod on a few weeks ago...paying my dues. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bogfrog Posted November 1, 2014 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. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ Posted November 1, 2014 (edited) 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? glaukus.... hope your foot heals quick Edited November 1, 2014 by ☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtarman Posted November 1, 2014 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? /endgloat 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glass Roots Posted November 1, 2014 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. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hostilis Posted November 2, 2014 I once dropped a heavy peruvianus cutting with big spines on my foot from a standing position. Did not feel very good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theuserformallyknownasd00d Posted November 2, 2014 Don't get cocky there! ;) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
incognito Posted November 2, 2014 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. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paradox Posted November 2, 2014 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 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtarman Posted November 3, 2014 Don't get cocky there! ;) Bah. Come at me cactus, I say! 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nitrogen Posted November 4, 2014 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.. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cactuscarl Posted November 7, 2014 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 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites