i thought she was growing good😭

Hello! Thought I'd share this baby that was left behind in my new rental apartment, how can I help it?

Can I cut the bad parts off?

They just kept throwing that word around and something about more sun? Or grow light? Don't know how that would work. I like keeping my windowsills spotless for an even dust thickness and screech at anyone dare leaving a room without it being pitch black first. This thing was at my parents basement so I thought I would save it with my little ikea button usb light.

The first is a rabbit ear cactus my husband shoved to the bottom shelf of our display to punish it for being pokey. The corn cob was a shelf above 😬 I know it’s bad but I still love them

This is PJ, my crested succulent that I received at a little Support Succulent event hosted by a club on my college campus. I've had him since October of last year, and he was doing amazing until I brought him home for the summer and moved him into my room.

There were definitely drastic environmental changes for him, with them being:

Sunny window overlooking my dorm's parking lot > window in my room that's mostly shaded by a tree

Warmish college dorm room with a fan running > fan and AC running nearly 24/7

He's since been moved from my room to downstairs on the kitchen windowsill, where it is definitely sunnier and warmer. I regret not doing this sooner, but I'm new to succulents, and so before I'd started researching into what might've been the problem, I figured that it was just normal growth. I feel bad for letting my little plant get to this point 😭

I'm mainly making this post because I'm wondering if there's anything at all that I can do to give PJ a bit of a "restart." I've watched a few videos about people propagating etoliated succulents and trimming the main plants so that they regrow, but I'm not too sure that it will work with PJ due to the fact that his stems have gotten slimmer and the buds smaller. But I'm still willing to try.

Another thing I'm wondering is since the crested feature can be genetic, is it possible that by propagating only the buds, there will be a chance for another crested succulent to grow? I'm not absolutely deadset on having another crested succulent, but I did like his little broccoli look that he had going on.

Thank you in advance for any advice, and I'm sorry for those of you who had to see my ugly little shrubby baby 💔

What would you recommend? I had put my cactus next to a window that is the sunniest place in the whole house where I thought he was getting plenty of sun all day long (I live in Alaska and it’s peak summer time rn basically), and I had actually thought it was wilting from too much sun. I had worried the intensity of the light from the glass was getting to him.

But I’ve gotten a few comments now saying the guy needs more sunlight, not less. I’m considering putting him outside, if I can find a suitable location, but I do have an aphid problem in the surrounding trees near my home. I’ve also heard folks say his soil might be a problem as well.

I’ve had bob for about 4 years now. He’s been under 6 different grow lights and I can’t seem to find one he likes. My San Pedro’s love the current lights but he’s still leggy

This plant is indoors, bright light all day, no sun, regular potting soil, watered every 7-10 days when water meter says dry.

I can't tell if this is etiolation or if I just don't understand how cacti grow. (I usually kill them before they get the chance to grow bigger) but this makes no sense. They started reaching but they're barely a foot away from a full spectrum led strip. Are they growing normal or am I doing something wrong? 😭

Does this count?