The Rex is one of the heartier eaters among pet rabbits, a solid, plush-coated breed that typically arrives at the hay rack with commitment. That baseline is exactly what makes appetite change in a Rex worth reading carefully: when a rabbit built to eat starts leaving food, the shift is rarely about fussiness. The changes that should prompt a vet visit are the ones involving hay, total intake, and droppings — the working machinery of a rabbit — rather than a single refused vegetable.
Hay refusal is the headline change
A Rex who eats pellets and accepts treats but walks away from hay is displaying the pattern vets worry about most, because hay is both his main fibre source and the food that demands the longest grinding chewing. Teeth that hurt, a jaw that aches, or a mouth with a sharp edge all tax hay eating first. Watch how he chews: slow, one-sided, dropping wads of half-chewed hay, or pausing mid-meal to sit hunched. The opposite pattern — eating hay but ignoring pellets for a day while staying bright and producing normal droppings — is far less concerning and often resolves on its own. Total refusal of everything, even for much of a day, is urgent in any rabbit, and a Rex is no exception despite his sturdier build.
The weight angle unique to an easy-keeping breed
Rex rabbits gain condition readily, and owners sometimes restrict food to manage weight — which makes it important to separate a planned reduction from an unplanned one. If his appetite falls on the same diet he was thriving on, that is a symptom, not a diet success. Feel along his ribs and spine through the famous velvet coat: the plush fur hides both gain and loss, so body condition in a Rex is a hands-on judgement, and a rabbit who feels suddenly bony while eating less needs that recorded plainly. Appetite loss alongside a tense, rounded belly, reduced droppings, or a quieter-than-usual temperament points toward a slowing gut, which in a larger rabbit can progress deceptively because he still looks substantial.
Checking the tray, the mouth, and the routine
Start with the litter tray: droppings that shrink, dry, or thin out in number confirm that intake has genuinely fallen, whatever the bowl suggests. Check his water is flowing and his hay is fresh and sweet-smelling, since stale hay genuinely does get refused by a rabbit with options. Think through recent changes — new home, new companion, building work, heat — because a Rex under stress may eat less for an evening, but he should be back at the rack by the next day. Note whether sore-looking hocks, which this breed's fine fur can leave less protected, might be making trips to the rack and tray painful enough to suppress his routine.
When the call should happen
Phone the vet the same day if your Rex has eaten nothing for many hours, if droppings have stopped or shrunk sharply, or if reduced appetite arrives with hunching, tooth grinding, drooling, or a swollen-feeling belly. Hay-only refusal lasting beyond a day also earns an appointment even when he seems bright, because dental problems do not resolve by waiting. Selective treat-snubbing with normal hay intake, droppings, and energy can wait for a routine visit and a diet conversation. Keeping his weight, body-condition checks, and appetite notes in KinsLe's Pet Passport lets the vet see whether this quiet week at the bowl is a first event or a pattern.