Best bedding for Rex rabbits with sore hocks

Rex rabbits are beautiful but they do have a genuine vulnerability — their velvety fur is so short and fine on the undersides of their feet that they have much less natural cushioning than other breeds, which makes sore hocks a real and recurring risk if the bedding isn't right. Hard or wire floors, rough surfaces, or anything damp can quickly cause pressure sores that are painful and slow to heal. So getting the bedding right isn't a luxury for a Rex, it's genuinely important for their welfare. Is your Rex living indoors or outdoors, and are you looking to cover the whole enclosure floor or just a specific resting area?

That's exactly the right approach — full floor coverage is much better than a single mat he might just ignore. For a Rex who's already had sore hocks, you need something that's consistently soft, doesn't compress to nothing under their weight, and stays dry because moisture makes the skin more vulnerable. What's the pen floor surface underneath at the moment — is it on carpet, hard flooring, or something else?

Laminate is tough on Rex paws in two ways — it's hard and it offers no grip, so he's likely working his feet harder just to move around, which adds friction and pressure. What I'd recommend is Kaytee Clean & Cozy White Small Animal Bedding. It's a paper-based bedding that's genuinely soft and deep enough to cushion properly — you can lay it several centimetres thick across the whole pen floor. It absorbs moisture really well so the surface stays dry, it doesn't compact to a hard layer the way wood shavings do, and it gives traction so the slipping issue disappears too. It's available in large bags on Amazon UK which is important because you'll want to keep it topped up generously. Replace it fully once a week and spot-clean daily to keep dampness from building up around his resting spots — that's where sore hocks flare up most.

Yes, paper bedding like Kaytee Clean & Cozy is unbleached and non-toxic, so small amounts ingested aren't harmful — most rabbits have a nibble and it passes through fine. That said, if he's actively eating large quantities rather than just tasting, that can sometimes signal he needs more hay available, since hay should genuinely make up around 80% of what he's consuming. As long as his hay rack is well stocked and he's foraging through that, the bedding nibbling usually stays incidental and harmless.

For a Rex with a history of sore hocks, aim for at least 5 to 7 centimetres depth across the whole floor. That gives proper cushioning rather than just a thin layer that compresses flat when he sits or lies down. His favourite resting spots will flatten out faster so check those daily and top them up — rabbits spend a lot of time sitting still and that sustained pressure on one spot is where the hock problems tend to develop. The large 85-litre bag of Kaytee Clean & Cozy is the most economical option on Amazon UK for covering a full pen floor at that depth week after week.