Help With New Cactus

I purchased some cacti that were on clearance at Lowe's and discovered once I got on here that the little Chamaelobivia 'Rose Quartz' is not growing correctly. He is severely etiolated and all his trunks feel squishy, not firm. His soil (still in original pot) is dry, but I read that cacti need a winter dormancy period with little watering. Can this little guy be saved? What plan of action should I take? Does he need water? Should I put him in a bright light source or let him go dormant? Thank you!

The reason it's etiolated is not enough light, so I'd move it somewhere brighter if you can. The squishiness could be too much or too little water. Normally with a cactus I'd suspect too much rather than too little. When you say the soil is dry, are you just going by looks? The top of the soil can look dry when it's still quite wet underneath. Also if you have a tray under it to catch excess water you need to empty that after you water, otherwise it'll have wet feet for way too long.

Does the pot it's in even have a drainage hole? I bought a cactus from Lowe's a couple of months ago in a pot that turned out not to. Getting that cactus out of there was not a fun afternoon.

Thank you for your replies.

Yes, I know that it received not enough light in the past, but I was told that during the winter, cactus should be given a dormant period. So, I was told to put them in a cool place, out of bright light. I have a catch-22 situation and I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. All the cactus were too wet when I bought them, so I haven't watered them at all (it's been about 2 weeks). I know the soil is dry all the way down since I took the cactus out of the pot to inspect the roots when I noticed the squishiness.

The pot does have four drainage holes (thankfully!) and I take all my cactus out of their catch trays to water them and let them drain completely before putting them back on the trays. Sparrowgirl, I do not envy you! Sometimes I just don't understand how much common sense is lacking at the big box stores as far as their plants.

If the store overwatered them before you bought them that is probably why they're squishy. All you can do is not continue that and wait and see if it recovers. There's no harm in giving them more light--in their native areas they grow outdoors and any light you give it indoors is already going to be less intense than outdoor light.

Okay, well I'll give that a shot then.
Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it.

My hunny left my prickly pear cactus outside under a plastic tote for a few months before I realized it had gone missing. When I asked him to bring it in, it had some very long growth on it, where it had bent over and draped over the sides of the pot, trying to get to the tiny amounts of light entering from under the tote edges. The pot itself was sitting on a very muddy spot of our driveway under the tote, so it also got very waterlogged. I cut off all of the better looking parts and potted them in MG cactus mix, and they have taken off. Out of 8 pottings, I think I have lost just one. Some sat in lower light levels grew very tall and thin again though, while I know good roots haven't yet formed. Those I cut back down again and stuck in better light.