Put the Feet at the Top of the Rex Briefing
Most rabbit sitter sheets start with food, but a Rex sheet should start with feet. The breed's short, dense, velvety coat is thin on the underside of the hind feet, which leaves the hocks poorly cushioned and prone to soreness, especially in a heavier rabbit. Instruct the sitter to keep bedding and resting mats deep, clean, and dry, to make sure your Rex is not sitting for long stretches on wet litter or bare hard flooring, and to check the hocks every couple of days by gently looking at the heel area during floor time. A small pink bald patch is information to report to you; broken skin, swelling, or limping is a vet call.
The Feeding Routine for a Rabbit Built Solid
Rex rabbits are medium-to-large and famously food-motivated, so write the pellet portion as an exact measure and warn the sitter that pleading behavior is normal and not a sign of hunger. Hay is unlimited and should be the bulk of eating and chewing time; list the greens in the current rotation and the treats permitted across the stay, in total, so a generous sitter does not hand out a week's worth in two days. Fresh water daily, with the bowl or bottle routine your rabbit knows, and a note to watch the litter tray: output is the easiest daily proof that the gut is working.
Coat Care: Delightfully Little, With Two Exceptions
Tell the sitter to relax about grooming: a Rex coat should not be brushed like a long-haired breed's, and over-brushing can damage the plush texture. A damp hand stroked over the coat during a moult picks up loose fur perfectly well. The exceptions are nails and the rear-end check. If nails are due to be checked during the stay, either demonstrate the trim or explicitly leave it to you on return rather than having a nervous first attempt. The daily bottom check still applies, since any rabbit with soft stools or a soiled rear needs prompt cleaning and, if it persists or appetite dips, a vet conversation.
Handling a Strong Rabbit Without a Struggle
A Rex is muscular and can kick hard, so handling notes matter for the sitter's arms as much as the rabbit's spine. Describe the secure hold you use, one hand under the chest, the other scooping and supporting the hindquarters, rabbit held close to the body, and say plainly: never lift by the ears or scruff, never carry one-handed, and put the rabbit down backwards into the pen so it does not launch at the sight of the floor. If your Rex dislikes being picked up at all, say so and make floor-level fuss and hand-feeding the approved form of bonding instead.
The Warning Signs Section, Rex Edition
Give the standard rabbit red flags in this rabbit's terms: refusing favorite greens, a silent hutch and hunched posture, teeth grinding, far fewer droppings, or a wet chin suggesting dental pain. Add the Rex-specific ones beside them: limping, reluctance to hop onto a favorite platform, or any hock wound. Contact order goes at the top: you first where possible, then the exotic vet whose details are printed on the sheet, with the carrier location and a note that an unwell Rex travels on soft bedding, which protects those feet on the journey as well as at home.
Supplies and a Pre-Trip Demonstration
Close the notes with logistics: where the hay bale, spare bedding, pellets, and cleaning kit live, how the pen and room barriers latch, and which local contact can step in if the sitter is delayed. If you can, watch the sitter do one full round, feed, water, tray, hock check, before you go, because the hock check in particular is easier shown than described. Holding the brief in KinsLe through a Care Pass puts the bedding rules, exact portions, and foot-check instructions in your sitter's pocket for the whole stay, worded exactly as you left them.