I don't know how to add more than one pic so here's the second one.

Hi, DG,

They both look salvageable to me. I would repot them into a faster draining soil; something with grit or gravel in it.

The first plant you pictured is not a cactus, but a euphorbia. If you don't know, euphorbias have a milky white sap that can cause skin irritation in some people. It is advised that you wear gloves while handling it. If you don't wear gloves, just make sure to promptly wash anywhere the sap got on your skin.

I'll let others advise on whether to cut or not.

Nancy

Hello Nancy,
Thanx for the quick reply. I am so clueless when it comes to anything other than veggies and fruits. Currently the soil is pure sand. I'll see what I can get (our choice here is limited, sand, potting soil, which is essentially compost of some sort, then we have perlite and peat moss, that's all).

DG,

Mix the potting soil with the perlite at a 50/50 ratio. Go heavier on the perlite if you need to. NO SAND! :) Scrape together whatever kind of gravel you can get; even aquarium gravel will help. Combine so the texture of the soil is gritty. Do not water for about 5-7 days after you repot them, then water thoroughly each time you do: let the water exit the pot and then dump the water. Let the soil dry out before watering again. This may take up to 2-3 weeks, depending on your weather.

Good luck!

Nancy

The second one has tons of nice pads to start new plants if you wanted to get into propagating them. It looks quite healthy though. The first one seems a little narrow at the base but if it's not mushy it'll probably live.