Can anyone give me information on alfalfa hay and oats hay?

Rabbit with impacted molars ?

• I recently purchased an english lop and noticed he has weepy eyes. No nasal discharge and or sneezing what so ever. Eating and drinking well. I've given him alfalfa and coastal hay for the time being because he is allergic to timothy hay. The person I bought him from didn't seem knowledgeable on hay at all and i'm guessing she didn't bother feeding any hay. I'm thinking impacted molars ? Does anyone have information on impacted molars, how to recognize if that is what's happening, and how to help/prevent it at home. Also if it requires a vet visit (which i've read it will) if anyone has an estimate on how much it would cost. Thank you!

• Answer:

  Don't jump to the conclusion that his molar roots have overgrown. While weepy eyes with no other symptoms would tend to indicate a blockage in the nasalacrimal gland, that blockage is not necessarily related to his teeth at all. It may be a foreign body, scar tissue, inflammation, etc. etc. The only way to tell if it is a tooth issue is to have an X-ray done at the vet's. Price for that will vary widely, and because they tend to have issues getting a rabbit to hold still enough for a clear head X-ray, they may need to sedate him, which can add additional cost. If it is not tooth related, they will try to flush the blockage out. If they can't, there isn't really any further treatment, other than they may give you eye drops to use to reduce any irritation from the weepy eye, and you will need to keep the surrounding area clean and as dry as possible to avoid skin infections, etc. If it is an overgrown root on a molar, they may or may not treat it, depending on how bad it is and if it is compromising his health otherwise or threatening to do so. The treatment would be surgical removal of the tooth and root, and often the opposing molar (since otherwise it will overgrow and require filing under anesthesia every couple of months for life), which can cause you to have to feed a special soft diet since he won't be able to eat normally. The removal of the offending molar may well not resolve the weepy eye, either. It would be removed to stop it from continuing to grow and compromising more vital structures. So, costs for figuring out what it is and treating it will vary hugely depending on what the problems ends up being. You are probably looking at anywhere from $60-$500.