This is a specific conversation about Rabbit housing — space and setup that works — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
A healthy, active 3-year-old Mini Rex is in their prime — curious, energetic, and easily bored if their space doesn't match that. Most hutches sold in pet shops are far too small for any rabbit: they need room for at least three full hops, the ability to stand completely upright on their hind legs, and separate zones for sleeping and toileting. For an active rabbit this matters even more. Is your rabbit kept indoors or outdoors, and what kind of space do you have available?
He's indoors. I've got a decent-sized living room and he free-roams for a few hours a day, but I want to upgrade his base enclosure. It's currently a standard pet shop cage that feels cramped.
inparticular.ai
Good — free-roaming is exactly right, but the base enclosure still matters because it's where he spends overnight and downtime. A cramped cage causes stress even in a rabbit who gets daily roaming. How big is his current setup roughly, and does he live alone or with a companion?
He's on his own. The current cage is probably 100cm long, maybe less. I'd say it's definitely not big enough.
inparticular.ai
You're right — 100cm is well below the minimum for a rabbit his size. The Rabbit Welfare Association recommends at least 3m x 2m of combined living space. For an indoor solo rabbit who free-roams daily, what you actually need is a large modular pen rather than a cage, so he has a proper home base rather than just a holding box. I'd recommend the Rosewood Bun-E-Lodge Double Activity Centre. It's a two-storey wooden enclosure with a run section, roughly 150cm long at the base, with a separate upper sleeping area, a lower activity level, and front opening doors that make daily cleaning straightforward. It gives him the vertical space Mini Rex enjoy — they're a compact but athletic breed — and it doubles as a den he can retreat to even during free-roam time. It's solidly built and widely available on Amazon UK.
That sounds much better. Is two storeys actually good for rabbits though? I've heard some concerns about ramps.
inparticular.ai
Fair question. The concern is usually about steep or slatted ramps, which can cause sore hocks or slipping. The Rosewood unit has a gentler incline and a solid ramp surface, and at three years old with no joint issues your Mini Rex will handle it easily. If you ever noticed any stiffness or reluctance to climb you'd want to reassess, but for a healthy rabbit in peak condition it's a genuine enrichment feature rather than a hazard. Just add a layer of soft hay in both sections and he'll use the upper level happily.
Perfect. And should I be doing anything else to support his activity levels at this age?
inparticular.ai
At three he's in his best years — no special age-related adjustments needed yet. Keep his diet high in timothy hay, offer daily free-roam with some tunnels or digging opportunities, and make sure the enclosure has enrichment like a dig box or willow ball inside it. The main thing at this stage is just making sure his housing doesn't restrict him. Once you upgrade the enclosure, you'll likely notice him more settled and less destructive during free-roam too — that restlessness is often just a rabbit communicating that his base isn't big enough.
