Those fuzzy spines are a nightmare if they get on your skin. In my experience the best way to get rid of them is to take a sharp flat-bladed knife and scrape them lightly until they come out. If it hurts, you're scraping in the wrong direction.

If you keep the plant in a south-facing window it will probably be OK, but I'd be tempted to put it outside in a sunny spot as long as the weather isn't too cold. If it's been in the shade for a long time, you have to acclimate it to direct sun slowly. Start it out in dappled light or just place it where it gets light for a short time, then shade.

Make sure you use some Bactine on them, Spay, you may want to try glue not crazy glue hower, I had to go to the doctor, that is when I found out I was allergic to cactus spines, that is the reason I don't grow cactus. I'm sorry I can be of help. Don't let it get infected. Norma

Thank you!

There's a new cultivar of optunia that's bred to be spineless, no "ochies" at all. If you are sensitive to the spines, might try that, also might try the astrophytum cacti; some are spineless (A. myriostigma, for example) others have long, curling spines (A. capricorne "Goats Horn" or A. ornatum "Monks Hood") that are easy to handle...never "ouched" myself yet on one of these (it's been a long day & I might have mixed up the common & species names). There's also Discocactus zehntneri where the spines are long, thin, and wrap around the plant, amlost impossible to get stuck with this one. There are lots more, can make a collection of just "unouchables" like Eriosyce senilis, or Leuchtenbergia principis.

Don't know if it's true & I grow no cacti, but have heard to try Elmer's Glue or Rubber Cement: spread it on the hands, let dry & then roll it off. Purportedly takes the glochids off when one rolls it off; thought I've heard tweezers are not a good way to go lest the glochids break off & the bottoms stay in the skin.

No spines for me, thanks, just call me wuss girl!

This plant will need as much light as possible when it is growing, and it won't matter that much if it is not growing. If it is unused to light, it might have to be worked up to it. In my experience, if it is cold enough for me to have heat on in my house these cacti are dormant, and otherwise they try to grow.

By the way, I transplanted a 4 foot tall opuntia of this sort several years ago when I lived in Arizona. Still hurts to think about the glochids! I found the cure was to shave my hands and arms. This took care of things pretty well.

Hey Pirate Girl, I was going to suggest the Glue also.. someone (who studies Opuntias) recently told me how she uses gauze and elmers glue to get them out.
I personally use a pair of tweezers or an old triple blade disposable razor... not too sharp to cut me but sharp enough to pull them out.
Sorry, I'm sure by now you've gotten rid of them. Unless you keep fussing with it! I had a small type that filled an 8 inch pot and hung over the sites. I rescued it from a neighbor who said they were leaving it out to freeze as they hated it... I took it and was sorry. I put it on a window sill in the living room and all winter long I kept getting the glochids all over me! Couldn't figure out how... Then I made the mistake of opening the window one nice breezy day and that was it! it went out side and never came back in again. The Glochids Blew all over the place! The way I kept getting them was solved one day when I noticed this reddish brown dusty looking stuff on my cats tail... Closer inspection revealed them to be TONS of Glochids! Seemed the cat enjoyed rubbing against it!
Be careful where you put yours!

what part of texas are you in? you can grow that particular opuntia outside in tucson, and probably in place a bit chillier, provided you keep it pretty dry.
as pasimachus said, give that baby some sun! i don't know what's in bonsai mix, but pumice/sand/grit would probably be better in the long run than perlite, as that tends to float to the top after awhile.

-ming

That IS a beautiful plant, but I know from repeated unpleasant experiences how its glochids work.

I usually go for the tweezers when suffering from glochids, but if any are so fine that I can't see them and only feel pain when brushing over the place where they are imbedded, I grab a nail file and file the place. It always works: nothing to brush against any more. Possibly this could lead to a tiny infection, but so far it never has.