Mini Rex

[katiecrna]

So I want to get a second bunny but I'm very limited to what I can get. I am super allergic to basically anything with fur. I am not allergic to wool rabbits, so I've been on the look out for an English angora to adopt but they are rarely on adoption forums and shelters.
Then I was reading about mini Rex and How they are suppose to be the most "hypoallergenic" of the rabbit breeds. I have never touched a mini Rex in person so I'm not sure if I am allergic but I've been doing some research on them. They seem to be a crowd favorite
Anyone have any comments or opinions about them and allergies? Also why are they so prone to sore hocks? This concerns me. I read people need to pad their cage with thick fleece or foam or whatever. Isn't this a pain if they pee on the foam? I'm just curious about the breed and looking for any personal experience with them

 

[Aki]

Rex are prone to sore hocks because their fur is pretty thin, which means it doesn't offer the same protection to the paw regarding the pressure the body puts on it than a regular fur would. That said, I've had two very furry holland lops getting pododermatitis (Tybalt has one right now) because of bad posture. So it can happen to every rabbit (I think Nethies are the less prone, considering they are light and with a normal fur - never had a case on a nethie). Honestly, it's nothing to worry about much. I just take the rabbit everyday to check on his paws on put a bit of antibiotic cream (Forudine) if it gets swollen. The skin was never even broken and he doesn't look like he is in pain. The thing is to really keep an eye on things to treat it as soon as the skin reddens, before the rabbit is in pain and the sores appear. I just put a regular blanket on the floor and Tybalt loves it (Aki too, even if she doesn't need it ^^). He is becoming really good at being handled and it gives me an excuse to give him a big hug in the morning, because he is just soooo cute and fluffy.
On the other hand, I just made a search about rex being hypoallergenic, because I had never heard that before. I've just read on a dozen of websites that it was not true. That it was an argument invented by breeders to sell more bunnies. From what I just saw, breeders say it's true and advertise it on their websites while allergic people say it's not true. It makes sense to me because, from what I know, people who have allergies towards animals are not allergic to fur but to saliva... so as long as the rabbit has a fur and licks it, it makes no difference if it is a rex or a normal furred rabbit.
That said, some people are more allergic to some animals than others. I have a friend who is allergic to rabbits and the reaction is immediate (she took me to the breeder to get Tybalt and I thought she was going to die when we got in), so maybe... go to the rescue and see how you react to each animal?
My father was always allergic to cats (like sneezing and stuff everytime we visited someone who had one) but my parents have had a cat for 6 years now and he doesn't react to him. I don't know why. It's not a special breed either, just a European shorthair they found outside.

 

[katiecrna]

@aki do you find that your Rex sheds hair like your lop does?

I had mixed breeds and lops growing up and their hair was always flying everywhere. It would get in my clothes if I picked her up. My lionhead doesn't really shed in the same way, when I brush her the hair comes out on the brush but there is hair flying around all the time if that makes sense.

 

[stevesmum]

Speaking from personal experience, the hypoallergenic thing is bollocks. My first bunny was a mini Rex, and although she was the sweetest little thing ever, I was quite allergic to her, the same as my subsequent rabbits. She sent me down the road of allergy shots and nasal spray.

 

[Aki]

@aki do you find that your Rex sheds hair like your lop does?

I had mixed breeds and lops growing up and their hair was always flying everywhere. It would get in my clothes if I picked her up. My lionhead doesn't really shed in the same way, when I brush her the hair comes out on the brush but there is hair flying around all the time if that makes sense.

The shedding is different from one rabbit to another. The worst I had was a lionhead x lop cross. His hair was really fine and he had LOTS of it. It even killed the fan of my computer by getting inside the central unit (no, for real) because he liked to sleep next to it.
I had given up on the brush and just petted him with wet hands to remove the hair which prevented it from getting everywhere (so yeah, I know what you mean ^^).
It is true that the hair of Rexes is smooth and short, so even if they moult like all the other rabbits it isn't as prone to static and won't stick to your clothes as much. My current Nethie is also like that (each individual hair in her fur is noticeably thicker than my lop's hair, which probably helps). But if you are really allergic to bunnies, as stevesmum says, it probably won't make much of a difference.

 

[thumpingBerry]

Rex are super soft but they do shed. From what I understand the sore hocks in rex breeds may be due to poor posture or conformation. And angoras of any type are hard to find. It seems like the breeders of those types of rabbits don't advertise much, probably because of the increased care the fur needs. Any many times the few "rehomed" longhair rabbits you do find need to be shaved due to matting down to the skin. As far as sore hocks, I have an English Angora with sore hocks! He sits wrong, on the heels of his back feet.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

I dunno about the alergy aspect but I own a mini Rex named Iris and I love her she is the sweetest rabbit I've ever owned and she has a great personality and a good temperament and she never chews on cords or anything like that of course that could just be her and not the breed Iris is also incredibly smart she's excellent at figuring things out and always comes when I call her name she also likes to be silly and play games with me she has a lot of energy but it was so easy to teach her how to use the litre box she practically taught herself, mini Rex's have very short but thick dense fur which feels like velvet.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

Iris dose shed though.

 

[Aki]

Unfortunately, all rabbits shed... like all animals with fur (between the rabbits and my Eurasier, there is fur everywhere in my house).
About the sore hocks, all breeds can have them but about the rex, the explanation I found everywhere is about the thickness of the fur. That's from an article about pododermatitis on the House Rabbit society website:
"Rabbits have little or no fat padding on the bottoms of their feet; they rely almost exclusively on a thick pad of wool to protect them from impact and friction. (NOTE: Some rabbit breeds, particularly Rex rabbits, have very fine fur that doesn't hold up well to friction. These breeds seem particularly prone to sore hock problems.)"
Of course your rabbit can ALSO have bad posture. And all rabbits can develop pododermatitis.

 

[BlackMiniRex]

my bunny sheds like crazy!but if you stay on top of it and keep grooming him (i usually groom him 2-3 times a week maybe less Lol) he has thin fur on his hocks (like everyone has said) so they are usually bald, but with all his cushions and towels they never bleed or become a serious problem. Mini rexs are soft...SUPER soft.
Andy is really friendly, so it wasn't hard bonding with him.
good luck finding a second rabbit!

 

[BladeRunner]

Hey BlackMiniRex
We have one living in the house right now. He's more like a dog than a rabbit !
Kind of heavy for a mini.... but more like very solid and not overly large. Although his show weight is just about tipping the scales.
Closer to 5 lbs than 4 1/2. We were thinking about possibly showing him at the next Arba open breed show this spring -- but he'd need to be put on a diet , and he loves to eat.

 

[katiecrna]

I'm excited to finally meet a mini Rex at a shelter. Hopefully I won't be allergic and I can adopt!

 

[Ivythelionhead]

Good luck, I hope it all goes well.

 

[Akzholedent]

I can tell you for certain that Mini Rexes aren't hypoallergenic.. My husband's little cousin has one, and in snuggled with his softness for like, four hours, and my eyes were swollen shut for two days... It was awful... I know I'm allergic to buns, but he was soooo cutttteee... ;-)

I did have all three buns in the upper part of my house for about a year, but I was absolutely miserable. I couldn't put Ellie outside, as she had just been spayed and it was winter, so I kept them both upstairs..

During summer last year, my dad and husband built a wonderful rabbit condo for Butterscotch and Ellie in our basement, and they can go outside during the day to play in the sun, dig in dirt, and have a wonderful time... (Pippi doesn't like them, so having them as friends wouldn't work anyway)

But yeah... If you're that allergic, I would recommend getting allergy tested and start a regimen of allergy shots. My rabbit allergy is my worst (and gahhh... Its bad) but with only one rabbit, I'm alright until I go to vacuum her xpen. Definitely don't get additional rabbits until you get your allergies sorted out... It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to the extra bun.