Enrichment for Rex Rabbit with Sore Hocks

A six-year-old Rex with sore hocks — that's something we need to work around carefully. Rex rabbits have that velvety fur but almost no padding on their feet, so hard floors genuinely hurt them over time. Before I suggest anything, is your rabbit free-roaming across the whole space, or are they mainly in one room or enclosure where the mats are already laid down?

That's really common — they figure out the edges and just hop off. The nudging is actually useful information though: it tells me she's curious and has some digging instinct in her. That's great to work with. When you say she doesn't do much else, is that recent? At six she may be slowing down a little, but sometimes low activity is boredom rather than age.

Right, so we need something that gives her a reason to be active and engaged, but that works on top of a mat rather than replacing it — and ideally something heavy or interesting enough that she won't just shove it aside. What I'd go with here is a willow activity ball or a dedicated rabbit foraging mat — but specifically the ones designed as a flat grass or seagrass play mat rather than a tunnel or elevated toy. The Rosewood Naturals Boredom Breaker Activity Mat is ideal for her situation. It lies flat on the floor, you can tuck hay, dried herbs, or treats into the weave, and it gives her something to dig and forage through right where she's already lying. It sits on top of her fleece mats rather than replacing them, so her feet stay protected. The foraging activity tends to bring older rabbits back to life — it mimics exactly what they'd do grazing naturally.

She almost certainly will chew some of it, and that's completely fine — it's made from natural seagrass and willow which are both safe for rabbits to ingest. It's not a toy you need to guard. The chewing is actually part of the enrichment. Most rabbits do gradually demolish them, but they're not expensive and they last longer than you'd expect once she's got herbs and hay woven in to focus on first. Just avoid any mats that use dyed fibres or synthetic binding — the Rosewood one is natural throughout.

Start with a good pinch of dried chamomile or dried rose petals tucked into the weave — both are safe, strongly scented, and most rabbits go absolutely mad for them. Add a few strands of her normal hay so it smells familiar. Once she's got the idea, you can vary it with dried herbs like oregano, dill, or a tiny amount of dried lavender. Keep the treats minimal — the point is the sniffing and foraging, not the calories. Her hocks will thank you for keeping her engaged at floor level rather than jumping on and off things too.