The one in the second shot might perhaps have bugs, such as mites. (Try looking with a magnifier). Otherwise two typical problems with indoor succulents are inadequate light levels and too much water during winter. Related to the second point you don't have them set in a pan that collects water, right?

If they got tall before you increased the light level then the improved lighting won't be able to reverse that afterward. And a week hasn't been long enough to show much of any effect on new growth. Unless the lighting is too close and there is a problem with the tops of the plants getting too hot.

I don’t have experience with grow lights, but your plants do need more light. Maybe one week hasnt been enough time for them to stabilize and get a nice shape and color. I don’t think you’re Underwatering either. When you keep them dry it stresses them into beautiful colors and yours are defintely not stressed. I can’t really tell but it seems you may have mealy bugs. The damage on your closeup picture looks similar to my mealybug damage. Do you see any cobweb looking things on them? I would pour regular rubbing alcohol on them (or spray it on) and I would do it maybe three times within a week until you stop seeing the bugs. Frankly I don’t see any problems with your plants aside for the slight etiolation. Just be patient and continue to keep them under the lights. I’m sure they’ll look a lot better within a few weeks. Maybe someone else has experience with grow lights that can suggest how many hours a day they need to remain on, Ive read some folks keep them on for 16+ hours.

Thanks for the advice! I’ve had mealy bugs on other succulents, so although I don’t see any obvious ones, I fear you may be right. I’ve really struggled with them even using the alcohol method, but I refuse to give up on growing succulents and admit I’ve failed!

I’m curious... is there anything I can add to the soil that would take care of mealy bugs for sure? I got out the magnifying glass and flashlight and you were right about mealy bugs on number 2. I don’t see any on the others, but I feel like they’re probably there..

I know some people use fungicides to drench the soil. I just stick to the alcohol so I wouldn’t be able to help you there. I’ve never seen mealybugs in the soil if I have a very bad problem I uproot, spray with the water hose, drench in alcohol and just let it sit for a few days before replanting.

If you’re brave, you could always remove all the leaves, and use a cotton swab to clean off the mealy bugs and keep those for propagating and then clip off the top of the stem. You’ll have all those new plants from the leaves and the stem will put out new heads/rosettes like crazy.

Update on the succulents 5 months or so later. Some improved, some died, but now they’re all changing colors..

Can anyone help me identify what might be causing this?

They’ve been outside in full morning sun, and partial afternoon shade in the dry climate of Colorado.

I was thinking maybe they were dry, as J said above “When you keep them dry it stresses them into beautiful colors“, but we’ve got enough rain in the last 2-3 days that I’d be surprised if they were under watered.

Any ideas are appreciated!! Thanks!

Wow looking much better. They are succulents so normally should be on the dry side. The colour change you see is normal it means they are starting to get better light. Green growth and etiolation happens when they go into a house over winter.

Kellers- Great job! Impressive transformation. You may have lost some but, you've gained invaluable experience. Suggestion if i may: Not all grow lights are of equal quality. Make sure they output the necessary spectrum of light. Find out what other members use successfully. Also, a lot of people microwave their medium before planting/re-planting especially if they're growing indoors. This can prevent unwanted pests/microbes from invading your plants. Notice i said "prevent," not a sure-fire solution but, something you may want to consider. ---Best