Cut off the top, and restart it by laying it in a cool airy space. Wait until you see roots forming then plant. You perhaps should consider doing this in the spring, it may take two months for them to develop roots, now I think it is the dormant period for cactus. Norma

Hi Norma. thanks for the post. So do you mean that i should just leave it alone until spring and then cut it off? i am scared that it won't last until then. it looks like it is molding, and it has become stiff and dried out like paper. is there anything else i should do in the meantime?

ok so i cut off the top section before christmas and now the bottom section looks like the top did a few weeks ago. it looks like it is dying from the top down. now there is only about 6 inches of green left and even that is spotty.

so my question now is should i cut it off where the green stops or will this send it into total shock? i guess it's already passed into total shock so how much worse could it be.

is it possible that this was all caused by lack of water? I was afraid to water it for a few weeks after the incident since it got too much moisture from the snow. but i started watering it in small amounts after i cut off the top and it seems to be holding on longer than it did before. The top turned from just sad looking to death over a couple days, but the bottom section has been deteriorating much slower.

i am really hoping that i can salvage something from this once magnificent cactus. please, does anyone have some advice?