Before one arrives
Mini Lop Care Guide
Most of what a Mini Lop needs is decided before it arrives. Get the pen, the hay and the vet sorted first, and the first fortnight is straightforward.
A Mini Lop needs a pen of at least 4 ft by 2 ft, unlimited hay, daily time out in a rabbit-proofed room, and a vet who treats rabbits. They are indoor animals. Everything else is detail.
Housing
A puppy pen beats a cage. At five to six pounds a Mini Lop needs room to stretch out fully and to stand on its back legs without its ears touching the roof. Line the base with something washable, put the litter tray in the corner the rabbit chooses rather than the one you chose, and keep hay within reach of the tray. Rabbits eat and toilet at the same time, which is useful.
Flooring matters more for a heavier rabbit. Wire floors cause sore hocks, and a Mini Lop's weight makes that worse than in a Holland Lop.
Litter training
Mini Lops train quickly because they naturally pick one corner. Put the tray there, put hay in or beside it, and clean it daily. Accidents after a settled period usually mean the rabbit is unwell, in season, or the tray is too dirty.
Handling
Support the back end always. A rabbit that feels unsupported kicks, and a five pound rabbit kicking against a spine can injure itself badly. Sit on the floor to handle rather than lifting to chest height. Mini Lops are among the more tolerant breeds, but tolerant is not the same as wanting to be carried.
Grooming
Brush weekly, and every day or two during a moult. Rabbits cannot vomit, so swallowed fur has to pass through, and a heavy moult with too little hay is a common route into gut stasis. Nails need clipping every four to six weeks. Never bathe a rabbit.
Call a vet the same day if
- It has not eaten for twelve hours, or has produced no droppings
- It is sitting hunched and pressing its belly to the floor
- It is breathing through its mouth
- There is a head tilt that was not there yesterday
- There are flies or maggots anywhere near the back end
Gut stasis is an emergency measured in hours. Find a rabbit-savvy vet before you need one, and ask how many rabbits they see rather than whether they treat them.
Neutering
Four to six months. Does should be spayed because of the uterine cancer risk, bucks because it settles spraying and territorial behaviour. Ask how many rabbit anaesthetics the practice does a month. Rabbit anaesthesia is not the same as cat and dog anaesthesia.
The first fortnight
Keep it quiet. A new rabbit will hide, and that is normal. Do not chase it out to be held. Sit near the pen and read, put food down and leave. Most Mini Lops come out to investigate within a few days, and a rabbit that approaches you is worth far more than one you caught.
Feed exactly what it was eating here for the first two weeks. Changing food, and how to do it safely.
Where these figures come from
Weights and lifespans here are the breed standard and what we see in our own rabbits, not a guarantee about any individual animal. A rabbit is a living thing and it will do what it does. If a breeder gives you an exact adult weight for an eight week old kit, they are guessing.
We breed Mini Lops in Bakersfield, California. What is available now, or ask Arlen a question before you decide.
Ask about a Mini Lop
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