My friend had this cactus she bragged about. Oh how she loved that white ball of fluff and hair. One day she taped it and it fell off. Actually rolled off. It had been dead and the 'Best of Show' in her garden for a while. My rule of thumb: if it does not fall off when tapped it is alive. Have a great day all, Paula

I can not see my old man either, he is the really hairy white one. It is alive and it does things like get taller and last year it made a baby on it's side ....so maybe it is a she. I can't tell under all that hair. Maybe take a measurement, or a picture of where its growth point is and see if it gets taller or the arrangement of needles changes. And put it under the porch roof for those daily tropical downpours.

Thanks. And I love the story of Paula's friend. I guess I'm not the only one to have this problem.

I am having the same troubles. Mine has been this size for a few months. No new growth. It doesn’t fall off or roll down if I touch it lol like mentioned above. Here is a picture

Nice pic it’s being backlit which makes it easier to see what’s going on inside the woolly layer. Sadly from the looks it seems to be desiccated. Unpot and really inspect the cactus. I fear it may be a goner:(. The actual cactus part should be robust.