Three to Four Inches, Chosen for the Hocks
A Rex rabbit suits a bedding depth of three to four inches across its resting and nesting area, and the deciding factor is this breed's feet. Rex fur is famously plush on the body, but the fur over the hocks is thin, and the breed is well known for developing sore, bald hocks when it spends time on hard or abrasive flooring. Three to four inches of soft paper bedding or gentle hay compresses under a Rex's weight into a cushion that spreads pressure across the whole foot instead of concentrating it on the hock point.
Pad the Whole Resting Zone, Not Just a Corner
Unlike breeds that only need depth in a digging corner, a Rex rabbit benefits from its padding extending over the full area where it lies, because a Rex will flop and stretch wherever it feels like resting. A single deep corner surrounded by hard floor leaves the hocks unprotected the moment the rabbit chooses a different spot. Keep the digging corner at the deeper end if your Rex likes to rearrange bedding, but hold a generous, even layer everywhere the rabbit rests, and place extra depth under favourite sleeping places once you learn where they are.
Material Matters as Much as Measurement
The wrong material at the right depth still harms a Rex. Coarse straw, wiry hay stems, and rough wood shavings work against thin hock fur, abrading it with every shift of weight. Smooth paper-based bedding and soft, leafy hay are the safer build, and a folded fleece or mat under the bedding in the main sleeping spot adds a forgiving layer that stays put. Check what your Rex is actually lying on each week by parting the bedding down to the floor; a compressed, gritty base layer needs replacing even when the surface still looks fresh.
Wire Floors Are a Hard No for This Breed
A Rex rabbit should never be kept on a bare wire floor, whatever the bedding depth elsewhere. Wire concentrates the rabbit's weight onto narrow bars exactly where the hock fur is thinnest, and sore hocks can follow quickly even in an otherwise clean setup. If an inherited hutch has a wire section, cover it solidly with a board or thick mat and bedding rather than treating it as a toilet area the rabbit will avoid; Rex rabbits rest where they please, including the spot you expected them to skip.
Read the Hocks as Your Depth Gauge
Your Rex's hocks tell you whether the bedding depth is doing its job. Part the fur weekly: pink, intact skin with fur present means the padding is adequate, while bald patches, redness, or any broken skin means the surface is failing and needs more depth and softer material immediately, plus a vet visit if the skin is open or the rabbit is favouring a leg. Increasing depth after seeing early thinning usually reverses the trend; ignoring it lets a pressure sore deepen. Note what you find each week so a slow change is not missed.
Keeping the depth, the approved materials, and the weekly hock check noted in KinsLe with Family Sharing means no carer substitutes a harder surface or a thinner layer.