missing tooth!

[fastlanestridin]

So I took my bunny to the vet because I thought he had a tumor, turns out to be his stomache that is harder than it should be.
So the vet checked his teeth and she said on the one side he is missing a top second tooth so the bottom one has moved and is pointing towards his tongue.
So she said that because he isn't able to fully chew his food properly it is making his stomache feel hard because of the hay staying in there longer. So of course she said that he would need to be sedated and the tooth filed down.
He's 10 years old so I don't know if he would handle the sedation well. I also don't have a ton of money to pay for the surgery(he's considered my pet so my parents don't pay for his stuff). So they are going to phone me with a estimate for how much the surgery costs.
So my question is, is there another way for him to get the fiber that the hay gives him?
I'm going to start soaking his pellets so that he doesn't have to chew as much.

 

[Mariah]

Why does he need to be sedated to file his tooth down? We do bunnies at my work, and we never sedate to file teeth. We wrap them in a bunny burrito and someone holds while the vet files. You should ask them about no sedation...

 

[fastlanestridin]

I think she thinks the tooth hurts because he didn't want to let her look in that side of his mouth and when she did he made a little squeel. And the eye on that side is running all the time. He was great with the other side of his mouth.
I looked on oxbows website and they have this stuff called critical care and something called fibrevive. Could he be fed this exclusivly? Cause the vet is worried that he could get impacted if he's having trouble digesting his hay because of the chewing problem

 

[caustin4]

At feed stores they sell 100% Timothy hay pellets (just pure hay in pellet form). You could try soaking those in water and make a Timothy hay mush so he can get fiber.

 

[fastlanestridin]

Are you talking about the timothy cubes? I have those for my horse. They soak up well, I can just bring some home from the barn when I am out there.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Is it his back tooth that is a problem? A front tooth can easily be trimmed, but the back ones take more work. There are some vets that can trim a back tooth without having to put the rabbit under, so you might try calling around to find one.

If his eye is watering, then there could be tooth root problems. The root can grow up and cause problems with the eyes. X-rays can help diagnose this, but I think surgery to remove the tooth is the only way to really solve the problem.

Critical Care is a good product to help rabbits who are having trouble eating. It won't help wear down the back teeth, so not really great for long term use, but can be good to help get a rabbit back on tract.

 

[fastlanestridin]

Its his back teeth she said the one behind the front teeth. She said it looks like the top one is gone so the bottom one has moved and is now facing toward the tongue. She said that is isnt rubbing or causing ulcers yet. I dont have the money to spend to get it removed if it is over 200 dollars.(I pay for all my pets stuff myself)
Would feeding him soaked timothy cubes be ok instead of hay?

 

[caustin4]

The soaked cubes aren't a replacement, but if you can't afford the surgery now then that should help the stomach problem.