Mr Pet Lover Logo

Rex type

Rex

The Rex is the rabbit you have almost certainly touched without knowing it — its plush, upright, velvet-like coat is the fur that made the breed famous and, historically, commercially valuable in the fur trade.

Rex rabbit
Rex — gallery 0
Rex — gallery 1
Rex — gallery 2

Size

6-11 lb

Lifespan

8-11 years

Free-roam

3-4 hours free-roam

Experience

Rabbit-savvy planning

Is This Breed Right for Me?Compare RexsCare Guide
By ·Updated
Not individually reviewed by a veterinarian. Editorial standards
This article is for general information only. Always consult your veterinarian for medical decisions about your pet.

Decision first

Is a Rex right for you?

Start with fit before history or trivia. These are ownership signals, not guarantees about any individual rabbit.

Best suited for

  • Owners prepared for hay-first feeding, litter care, and daily supervised free-roam time.

Think carefully if

  • You need a pet with almost no daily feeding, litter, and health-monitoring routine.
  • You cannot keep up with grooming and preventive care.
  • You cannot access a rabbit-savvy veterinarian for routine and urgent care.

Conditional fit

Apartment living may be difficult unless the owner can provide a large exercise pen or safe room for daily movement.

Daily reality

Rex commitment snapshot

Daily free-roam

3-4 hours free-roam

Match movement, enrichment, and rabbit-proofing to age, health, heat, and housing.

Coat care

Low

Grooming needs vary by coat, shedding, and lifestyle.

Health monitoring

Needs planning

Most rabbits need daily appetite, droppings, litter, teeth, ears, and behavior checks.

Structured facts

Rex at a glance

The measurements and traits that most affect day-to-day life with this breed.

Origin

France

Group

Rex

Weight

6-11 lb

Height

11-13 in

Lifespan

8-11 years

Temperament

calm | docile | friendly

View all characteristics and methodology

Lifestyle fit

Indoor housing
Needs caution
Child friendliness
Needs caution
Bonding potential
Individual match
Handling styleMost rabbits are safer and calmer when interaction happens close to the ground.
Floor-level preferred

Owner commitment

Free-roam time
3-4 hours free-roam
Grooming
Low
Litter routineClean litter supports hygiene and makes appetite or droppings changes visible.
Daily

Behavior

Sociability
Breed-specific
Energy
Moderate
Trainability
Moderate
Noise
Quiet

Environment and health

Dental monitoring
Routine priority
Heat sensitivity
Needs indoor climate control
Health risk
Needs planning
Vet type
Rabbit-savvy or exotics

Ratings combine structured breed data, visible breed fields, and editorial context. They are planning aids, not predictions for an individual rabbit.

Daily life

Rex temperament and behavior

The Rex is the rabbit you have almost certainly touched without knowing it — its plush, upright, velvet-like coat is the fur that made the breed famous and, historically, commercially valuable in the fur trade. That coat is the whole story, and it is the first thing a prospective keeper should understand both as a draw and as a care implication. A Rex's fur differs from an ordinary rabbit's because a recessive mutation shortens the guard hairs to the same length as the dense undercoat, so there is no coarse outer layer standing proud; the result is a uniform, springy pile that feels like crushed velvet whichever way you stroke it. The standard Rex is a mid-sized rabbit of roughly 7.5 to 10.5 pounds (about 3.4 to 4.8 kg) with an athletic, well-rounded body, recognized by ARBA in a long list of colors including castor, black, blue, white, and broken; the Mini Rex is a separate, smaller breed carrying the same coat gene. Temperament is a genuine strength: Rex are typically calm, intelligent, and people-oriented, often described as among the more dog-like rabbits, and they litter-train and learn routines readily. The honest trade-off, though, is built into that beautiful coat. Because the foot fur is part of the same short, fine pile, Rex have less protective padding on the soles of their feet than normal-coated rabbits, which makes them notably prone to sore hocks — especially on wire or hard flooring. The coat also needs a gentle hand: over-brushing damages the dense pile, so grooming is light-touch, not vigorous. Buy from an ARBA-registered breeder or a rescue, secure a rabbit-savvy exotics vet, and plan for an 8-to-11-year companion that rewards calm handling with real personality — provided you give it soft flooring and respect that the famous fur is also its main vulnerability.

calm | docile | friendly

calm

A common Rex temperament descriptor that should be interpreted alongside housing, gentle handling, diet, and health monitoring, and household fit.

docile

A common Rex temperament descriptor that should be interpreted alongside housing, gentle handling, diet, and health monitoring, and household fit.

friendly

A common Rex temperament descriptor that should be interpreted alongside housing, gentle handling, diet, and health monitoring, and household fit.

Owner note

Temperament labels are starting points, not guarantees. Meet the individual rabbit and ask about behavior history whenever possible.

Care essentials

How to care for a Rex

What looking after one actually involves: diet, grooming, habitat, bonding and routine health.

DietAs needed
  • Unlimited grass hay — timothy, orchard, or meadow — is the foundation of a Rex's diet: it should be the bulk of every day's food, and it is what keeps the gut moving and wears down teeth that grow for life. Add a measured daily pellet portion sized for a 2.7–4.8 kg rabbit, a rotating variety of washed leafy greens, and constant fresh water.
HousingAs needed
  • A Rex rabbit needs room to run, not just a hutch: space to take several consecutive hops and to stand fully upright on its hind legs, with solid flooring rather than wire mesh, at least one hide, and a toilet corner cleaned daily. Give solid flooring and a soft resting mat in particular: the thin fur on a rex-coated breed's feet turns hard or wire floors into a sore-hock hazard.
ExerciseAs needed
  • Give a Rex several hours of daily free-roaming time in a safe, rabbit-proofed space; confinement without it causes both muscle and bone problems. Even a calm Rex needs the movement — tunnels, chews, and forage toys keep the time active rather than idle.
GroomingAs needed
  • A Rex's short, plush, velvet-like coat needs a light touch — smooth it weekly with a soft brush or a damp hand and avoid heavy brushing, which damages the dense pile; step up to daily in a moult, check the hocks for sore or bald skin, and check the rear daily for soiling, which draws flystrike in warm weather.
VeterinaryAs needed
  • Line up a rabbit-savvy vet before you need one and keep to twice-yearly checks. A Rex that stops eating or stops passing droppings is a same-day emergency — call a rabbit-savvy vet that day, because gut slowdown (GI stasis) can turn life-threatening within hours. This breed is prone to sore hocks (pododermatitis), so have the vet inspect the feet and raise any sore or bald patch early. Ask about RVHD and myxomatosis vaccination for your area, and consider neutering for its health and behaviour benefits.

Health planning

Rex health risks and screening

Every rabbit breed has individual health variation. Use this profile for planning and discuss diet, dental care, gut health, and urgent symptoms with a rabbit-savvy veterinarian.

Sore hocks (ulcerative pododermatitis) — the Rex's signature short, velvety coat extends to the soles of its feet, leaving far less protective fur padding than a normal-coated rabbit, so on wire or hard, dirty flooring the hock skin breaks down into painful ulcers; this is the breed's defining health risk, and prevention means solid soft dry flooring, weight control, and weekly checks of the hind-foot undersides for redness or hair loss.
Heat sensitivity — the dense, plush Rex coat traps heat against a body that cannot sweat, so this breed overheats more readily than a thinly furred rabbit; keep indoor temperatures below roughly 26°C/80°F, provide airflow, shade, and frozen water bottles in summer, and watch for fast breathing, drooling, or listlessness.
Coat and skin problems from over-grooming — the short pile is easily damaged by aggressive brushing, and bare or broken patches expose skin to irritation and fur mites that hide in the dense coat; groom gently and infrequently, and inspect the skin during the weekly handling for flaking or thinning rather than brushing hard.
GI stasis — the gut slows or stops, often triggered by a low-fiber diet, dehydration, pain, or stress; it is a genuine emergency, and any rabbit that stops eating or passing droppings for 12 hours needs same-day veterinary care.
Uterine cancer in unspayed does — adenocarcinoma is common in female rabbits over about three years old; spaying removes that risk and also prevents reproductive and hormonal behavior problems.

Ownership cost

How much does a Rex cost?

Cost figures are structured so first-year and lifetime estimates do not conflict with the underlying line items.

Acquisition$35-$90
Adoption
Initial setup
Routine monthlyAbout $50/month
Routine annualAbout $600/year
First-year estimate$635-$690
Lifetime routine estimate$4,800-$6,600 routine costs

Currency: USD. Region: United States. Updated: . Typical ranges for this breed. Equipment, insurance, emergency veterinary care, boarding and training are NOT included: we hold no sourced figures for them, and estimating them would be a guess presented as data.

Responsible ownership

Finding a Rex responsibly

What to ask a breeder or rescue is the same conversation for every breed, so we keep it in one place and keep it current.

The new pet checklist: what to ask, what to see, and what should stop you

Health documentation, meeting the parents or foster, contracts and return support, and the warning signs worth walking away from.

Original purpose

Rex history

History is useful when it explains today's behavior, coat, exercise needs, and care style.

Read the breed history

The Rex breed began in France in 1919, when the distinctive short, dense coat appeared as a natural mutation in a litter of ordinary gray rabbits owned by a French breeder. Because the trait was recessive, it took careful selective breeding to fix it, and the early animals — first shown in the 1920s — were known as 'Castor Rex' after the beaver-like castor coloring. The velvet coat was an immediate sensation in the European fur trade, where 'rex' pelts were prized as an affordable, plush substitute for more expensive furs, and that commercial demand drove the breed's rapid spread across Europe and into North America. The American Rabbit Breeders Association recognized the Rex in the 1920s, and breeders expanded it into a wide array of colors while the smaller Mini Rex was later developed as its own breed from the same coat gene. Today the Rex's role has shifted almost entirely from fur production to the show table and the home, where its plush coat and steady temperament keep it popular.

Rex — gallery 0

Lower-page context

Rexs in culture

Where the breed shows up in film, sport, work and folklore — the enjoyable part, once the practical questions are answered.

Fun facts

  • The Rex's velvety coat comes from a recessive mutation that shortens the guard hairs to match the undercoat — there is no coarse outer layer.
  • The breed arose from a single natural mutation in France in 1919 and was originally called 'Castor Rex' after its beaver-like coloring.
  • Rex fur was historically prized in the fur trade as an affordable, plush stand-in for more expensive pelts.
  • Counterintuitively, Rex need very little brushing — the dense pile mats less than wool, and over-grooming damages it.
  • The Mini Rex is a separate, smaller breed that carries the same velvet-coat gene as the standard Rex.

Rex FAQs

What makes a Rex rabbit's fur feel like velvet?

A recessive mutation shortens the Rex's guard hairs so they are the same length as the dense undercoat, removing the coarse outer layer most rabbits have. What's left is a uniform, springy pile that stands upright and feels like crushed velvet whichever direction you stroke it. That same gene is why the coat is so plush — and why it was historically prized in the fur trade as an affordable luxury pelt.

Are Rex rabbits prone to sore hocks?

Yes, more so than most breeds, and it is the single most important thing to manage. Because the Rex's short velvety coat extends to the bottom of its feet, it has far less protective fur padding on the soles than a normal-coated rabbit. On wire or hard flooring the hock skin can ulcerate painfully. Prevent it by housing the rabbit on solid, soft, dry flooring, keeping it at a healthy weight, and checking the feet weekly.

How often should I groom a Rex rabbit?

Less than you might expect. The dense, short pile actually mats far less than a long wooled coat, and aggressive or frequent brushing damages it. A gentle weekly hand-smoothing or a pass with a soft brush is usually enough, increasing only modestly during seasonal molts. Use grooming time mainly to check the skin and feet rather than to work the coat hard, since the fur looks best when left largely alone.

Are Rex rabbits good family pets?

Rex are among the more people-oriented rabbits — typically calm, intelligent, and trainable, often litter-training and learning routines readily, which makes them rewarding companions. They suit families where adults supervise handling and children interact at floor level, since all rabbits dislike being picked up and can be injured by rough handling. Their main special requirement is soft flooring to protect their lightly padded feet.

What is the difference between a Rex and a Mini Rex?

They are two separate breeds that share the same velvety-coat gene. The standard Rex is a mid-sized rabbit of roughly 7.5 to 10.5 pounds, while the Mini Rex was developed later as a much smaller breed, generally around 3 to 4.5 pounds. Both have the plush upright coat and similar grooming and sore-hock considerations, but they differ in size, space needs, and ARBA standards, so confirm which one a breeder is offering.

Explore More About Rex

Dive deeper into everything Rex — costs, care, and expert insights.

How Much Does a Rex Cost?

Purchase price, monthly costs, and lifetime expenses

Rex Rabbit Care Guide

This guide gives you a working plan for living with a Rex,...

Considering a guinea pig instead?

Browse Guinea Pigs