Cut away all rotted pieces of the root, dust in sulfur, and repot. Let it dry a few days first.

Thanks for your response! That's going to be the largest roots you see in the picture. Can it live without them?

I dont see why you would want to cut into the plant. If those roots are dead..they will shrivel up on their own. Now,if they smell like real dead meat,that's different.But if it's just a matter of letting nature take it's course,why cut into the plant?
I bring this up because your photo's dont show a rot problem like i think of it-odor(you havent mentioned any),goo oozing out,fungal growth.The less surgery the better.

I had a Desert rose that did have root rot and I also don't see any on your plant. Also the leaves were turning yellow and falling off. Here's a picture of my plant that didn't make it due to rot. It was very mushy, you could stick your finger right into it, and it stunk. Reminded me of a rotten potato.
{{gwi:573982}}

how/why does rot happen, what causes it?
can it be prevented from happening?

Mine happened because I had it outside for 2 weeks of 50-60 degree weather with heavy rain almost every day. I don't know what I was thinking. It won't happen again. Prevention is easy only water when the weather is hot so that the soil can dry quickly. Let the soil dry before watering and you should have no problem.

thank you for the advice,

***** i think everyone have to have at least one adenium if not 5 .

adeniums are sooooooo attractive plants.

HELP...I,too have soft Caudex after re-potting a VERY large DR! I raised the caudex out of the pot about 4 inches and cut off all small roots when I did this at the end of Feb. It is just starting to show signs of life but now I found that some of the caudex are soft?

memereboy, I have the exact same problem from the exact same reason. I am terrified that I am losing it! :( Other than the slightly soft caudex which has been slowly starting to shrink/shrivel since I repotted, raised it above the dirt more, and pruned the roots, it looks beautiful. Leaves galore after its first pruning a few months back.

Does anybody have any advice please? I'll be crushed if it dies!

Cut out all rot, in fact cut to healthy tissue, spray with alcohol (isopropyl), while still wet dust with sulfur powder or cinnamon, set aside for a day, then repot.

Adeniums are members of the Oleander family, and as such are poisonous. The sap can also cause skin reactions in some people, so wear gloves.

Let it stay dry a day or two in soil, then give it regular watering and heat.

My two pfennigs' worth. And no, I have no Adeniums.

When it's hot and they're actively growing they need a lot of water. If there's no smell, and no obvious rot, it's probably just thirsty.

This is my first plant and I'm trying to do the best by it that I can. I live in Cincinnati, OH so it's clearly not the best desert rose climate, but once the temperatures began to drop I pulled the plant inside. I've been doing my best to keep it near sunlight or artificial if the clouds are out. However I noticed when I brought it inside, it was beginning to show a small patch on the base of one stem. This hole began turning black and eating in to the plant and leaves were falling off the entire plant. So I cleaned it off pretty well and it stopped and new leaves are growing lately. Two new stems have grown, but one stem has gone completely soft and part of it broke (not the one that had whatever it was eating it). The soil suddenly has some orange stuff all over it, so I'm repotting it. Any suggestions to make it through the winter? Any clues as to why an entire stem would be soft from top to bottom?

What does a soft caudex mean? Too little water, too much water, rot??????

So.. I have an Adenium.. yellow leaves felt down... got new leaves... no flower and found a soft spot on caudex... I begun to dig it and found that is everywhere on the bottom. and now I'm confused... too much water.. too little water.. Is my plant going to die?