Budgeting for a Rex rabbit starts with the standard rabbit headings — hay in quantity, daily greens, a measured pellet ration, litter and a veterinary reserve — and then adds the breed's signature expense: what goes under its feet. The Rex's plush, upright fur is shorter and sparser on the hind feet than in most breeds, which leaves the hocks vulnerable to pressure sores. Soft flooring is therefore a consumable in a Rex budget, worn out and replaced on a cycle, not a one-time purchase. Tracking follows the same logic: money out, hay eaten, and a monthly hands-on look at those feet belong in the same log.
Fibre first, with a Rex-sized appetite
A Rex is a medium-to-large rabbit with a healthy appetite, so hay volume is a real monthly quantity — buy in bulk and track how long each bale or box lasts to set your reorder point. Log the measured pellet ration and resist creep; Rex rabbits round out easily, and extra weight loads the very feet you are trying to protect, making the weight log and the foot log two halves of one check. Greens rotate daily, and noting which are relished versus left helps you stop buying what this individual ignores. During the Rex's pronounced moults, add a line for grooming time and any extra hay offered, because swallowed loose fur plus a gut that slows is a combination worth heading off with fibre and brushing rather than treating later.
The flooring ledger: mats, fleece and hock checks
Plan to replace pen flooring in rotation: low-pile rugs, fleece layers or foam mats that can be washed and eventually discarded when a Rex has dug and chewed them thin. Track each replacement date and the state of the hocks at the same time — thinning fur, redness or any break in the skin on the hind feet should be written down with the date you saw it. That dated record turns a vague worry into something a vet can act on, and it shows whether a flooring change actually helped. Avoid budgeting for wire-bottomed housing entirely; for this breed it is a false economy that converts a small flooring spend into veterinary bills. If you spot swelling, limping or a wound on a hock, that is the point to seek veterinary advice promptly rather than simply adding another mat.
Litter, enrichment and seasonal notes
Litter costs track pen size and how diligently the Rex uses a tray; many Rex are tidy, which concentrates waste and makes paper-based litter a predictable monthly purchase. Enrichment spending goes on sturdy chew items — willow, seagrass, cardboard structures — replaced as they are demolished, and a Rex with plenty to shred is less likely to redirect onto the flooring you are paying to preserve. Note seasonal items too: extra shade and cooling for a densely coated rabbit in heat, and additional hay through cold snaps when appetites rise. Keep a simple monthly total for each heading so you can see the breed's true profile: fibre and flooring first, everything else after.
Closing the Rex month with feet and figures together
The monthly review for a Rex takes minutes: spending by heading, current weight, a fresh hock check recorded in words, moult status and the reserve balance. Patterns emerge quickly — weight creeping up while flooring wear stays flat suggests exercise, not shopping, needs adjusting. Keep the vet's details and any past foot treatment notes with the budget so a sitter knows the flooring is medical, not decorative, and must stay in place. When the Rex's figures and foot history sit in KinsLe inside the Pet Passport, anyone caring for the rabbit inherits both the budget and the reason behind its biggest line.