★ Sydney’s small animal experts since 1985
Mini Lop Rabbits
Australia’s most docile rabbit breed — gentle, sociable and wonderfully easy to handle. Everything you need to know before, during and after bringing your Mini Lop home.
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Mini Lop rabbits are the second smallest breed of domestic rabbit in Australia, averaging between 0.75kg and 2.5kg. They are widely regarded as the most docile rabbit breed — calm, affectionate and wonderfully easy to handle, making them an excellent choice for families, first-time rabbit owners and anyone who simply wants a relaxed and gentle companion.
Mini Lops are born with both ears upright, which gradually become softer and develop their characteristic floppy droop as they grow older. They are highly sociable animals that enjoy the company of not only other rabbits, but other animals and their owners too. It is genuinely not unusual for a Mini Lop to form close friendships with other household pets.
Our well-socialised baby Mini Lops are usually around seven weeks of age. We will never sell a rabbit younger than this, as they may still be suckling. We also offer adult rabbit rehomers from time to time — ask our team in store if giving an older rabbit a second home interests you. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updated photos of our current stock.
A healthy Mini Lop diet is built around high-fibre hay, supported by quality pellets, fresh leafy greens and the occasional treat. The diet should be consistently high in fibre and low in carbohydrates and sugars. If you are making any changes to your rabbit’s diet, do so gradually over two to three weeks to avoid digestive upset.
- Hay — 70–80% The foundation of your rabbit’s diet, available at all times. Oaten, ryegrass, meadow, timothy or a blended mix are all excellent choices. Hay provides the fibre essential for healthy digestion and helps wear teeth down naturally.
- Pellets — up to 10% Quality pellets provide essential vitamins and minerals not found in hay or vegetables alone. Recommended brands include Science Selective, Vetafarm Rabbit Origins, Peckish and our Petsville rabbit pellets. Avoid supermarket brands, which are often low-grade and may contain fillers or harmful additives.
- Leafy greens — approx. 8% of treats Dark, leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, collard greens, bok choy and Asian greens. Herbs such as basil, coriander, mint and parsley are also excellent in small amounts.
- Fruit — approx. 2% of treats Stick to low-sugar options such as blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. Carrots and apples are high in sugar and should be offered only in moderation despite being popular choices.
- Legumes Lucerne, alfalfa and clover are nutritious but high in sugar, protein and calcium — treat them as an occasional treat rather than a dietary staple.
Treats are a wonderful bonding tool and an excellent way to begin training. Use them by hand so your rabbit associates you with positive experiences. Petsville stocks a wide and varied range of rabbit-safe treats in store.
Hay is the single most important component of your Mini Lop’s diet and must be available at all times. Rabbits are natural grazers that will eat for up to seven hours a day — they need constant access to high-fibre roughage to keep their digestive system working properly. Without adequate hay, rabbits are highly prone to gastrointestinal stasis, which can be fatal.
All the standard hay varieties — oaten, ryegrass, meadow and timothy — are suitable for Mini Lops. The differences between them are subtle, and there really is no wrong choice unless your rabbit has a specific health condition. If your rabbit is overweight, timothy hay is the leanest option. Our team in store are always happy to advise on the best choice for your individual rabbit.
We strongly recommend Australian-grown hay. It is genuinely world class — fresh, high-quality and free from the irradiation and molasses treatment that imported hay often requires. Buying Australian also supports local farmers, and our hay at Petsville has such a high turnover rate that it is always fresh.
A hay feeder is an essential accessory. It keeps the hay elevated and protected from being walked over, soiled or wasted, and allows your rabbit to graze naturally throughout the day. Many of our enclosures come with hay feeders included — ask our team for details.
Quality pellets play an important role in your Mini Lop’s diet, providing the protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals that hay and vegetables alone cannot fully cover. We recommend Science Selective, Vetafarm Rabbit Origins, Peckish and our Petsville rabbit pellets — all of which use natural ingredients and meet or exceed the nutritional requirements of pet rabbits.
Avoid supermarket pellet brands. Despite often having attractive packaging, they frequently contain fillers, preservatives and low-grade ingredients that can cause malnourishment, digestive problems and increased susceptibility to illness over time.
Pellets should make up no more than 10% of your rabbit’s total diet. Do not overfeed — if your rabbit is overweight, reduce the pellet portion first. Use a heavy ceramic or stainless bowl to prevent tipping and spilling throughout the day.
Choosing the right enclosure is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your Mini Lop. The enclosure should be spacious enough for your rabbit to stretch out fully, stand upright and move around comfortably without touching the sides, toys or food bowls. There is no such thing as an enclosure that is too big.
For indoor enclosures, look for a design with an enclosed plastic base — easy to clean and disinfect — and a wire top for ventilation. For outdoor hutches, ensure the structure provides adequate shelter from direct sun, rain and predators at all times. Both indoor and outdoor options are available at Petsville — speak to our team for personalised recommendations.
Regular exercise outside the enclosure is important for your Mini Lop’s health and happiness. A puppy or rabbit playpen is a great way to safely section off a larger area of your home or garden for your rabbit to explore and stretch their legs. Cleaning the enclosure regularly with a rabbit-safe hutch cleaner is essential — rabbit urine is highly acidic and will burn their skin if left to accumulate. Use CSI, Vetafarm, F10 or Aristopet hutch cleaner, all of which are available in store.
Bedding should be kept clean, dry and changed regularly. For outdoor hutches, straw is a practical and comfortable option. For indoor enclosures, dust-extracted sawdust, hemp, paper litter bedding or wood pellets all work well. Aim for a bedding depth of around 5 to 15cm.
The substrate used in the main enclosure should always be different from what you use in the litter tray. This contrast — both in texture and scent — helps your rabbit identify the litter tray as the correct toilet area. Never use hay as bedding substrate, as this can confuse the distinction between food and toilet areas and may lead to health issues.
A corner litter tray placed inside the enclosure is an essential item. Popular litter choices include hemp, cats best, wood pellets and paper pellets. Rabbits are instinctively clean animals and will quickly learn to use a consistently placed litter tray once they feel settled in their environment.
A salt lick or mineral block should be attached to the side of your rabbit’s enclosure at all times. Rabbits instinctively know when their body needs additional salt or minerals and will only use the lick as needed — it lasts a long time and is an inexpensive but important part of their care. Salt and minerals aid in digestion, muscle and nerve function and fluid regulation, and also provide a source of mental stimulation as rabbits enjoy nibbling and interacting with them.
Vitamin supplements in liquid drop form are also available in store and can be added to drinking water. These are particularly useful if your rabbit is on a lower-quality diet, recovering from illness or going through a stressful period.
Fresh water must be available at all times. We recommend a drink bottle rather than a bowl — bottles cannot be tipped over, soiled or contaminated by your rabbit sitting or stepping in them, and they ensure a consistent supply of clean water throughout the day, particularly in warmer weather.
Toys are not an optional extra — they are a fundamental part of keeping a healthy, happy rabbit. Mini Lops are intelligent and curious animals that need mental stimulation and physical engagement. A bored rabbit will find its own entertainment, which usually means chewing furniture, cables or anything else within reach.
One of the most important functions of toys is dental health. A Mini Lop’s teeth grow continuously throughout their life — without appropriate items to chew on, teeth can overgrow, which is both painful and expensive to treat. Wooden toys, wooden hides and quality hay all help wear teeth down naturally and keep your rabbit comfortable.
Provide a minimum of four to six toys at any one time and rotate them regularly so your rabbit stays interested. If a rabbit destroys a toy, that means they loved it — replace it. Suitable enrichment includes chew toys, rope toys, wooden toys, tunnels, balls, foraging puzzles, cardboard boxes and treat holders. A wooden hide is particularly recommended as it doubles as both a retreat and a chew item — choose one your rabbit can comfortably fit inside, as burrowing animals appreciate a snug, enclosed space to feel safe.
Mini Lops are naturally clean animals and one of the easiest pets to toilet train. In the wild, rabbits instinctively designate one area outside their burrow for toileting — this natural behaviour makes litter training in captivity remarkably straightforward, often requiring very little effort on the owner’s part.
Place a litter tray in the corner of the enclosure and fill it with a substrate that is visually and texturally different from what you use on the enclosure floor. The contrast helps your rabbit identify the tray as the designated toilet area. If your rabbit makes a mistake, simply move the droppings into the tray — the scent will encourage them to return to the right spot. Repeat as needed, and within a short time your rabbit will be reliably using the tray.
Mini Lops have beautiful, dense coats that benefit from a weekly brush to remove loose fur and keep the coat in good condition. As they grow, they will shed their baby fur and develop a thicker adult coat — use a wire brush during moulting periods to remove patches of loose fur and prevent ingestion, which can lead to hairball issues.
You may occasionally want to bathe your rabbit — always use a rabbit-safe shampoo with the correct pH balance. Human, cat and dog shampoos are too acidic for a rabbit’s sensitive skin and can cause irritation or damage. Rabbit dry bath powder is also available for between washes. We stock Vetafarm rabbit shampoo and Aristopet dry bath powder in store.
When handling your Mini Lop, always support the bottom with both hands. When you first bring your rabbit home, give them one to two days to settle before picking them up — wait until they are eating, drinking and exploring their enclosure comfortably before you begin regular handling. Start with short, calm sessions and build up gradually. Never hold a rabbit by its ears, and be aware that rabbits can kick firmly if frightened — always handle gently and with confidence.
Mini Lops can be harness trained to explore the outdoors safely — and many enjoy the experience once they are comfortable with the process. Never use a collar on a rabbit; always use a harness specifically designed for rabbits, which distributes pressure safely across the body rather than the neck.
Begin by introducing the harness indoors, allowing your rabbit to wear it for short periods of time and gradually increasing the duration as they become comfortable. Once they are relaxed wearing the harness inside, begin using the leash indoors, then move to short outdoor sessions in quiet grassy areas. Never rush the process or force your rabbit to walk further than they are comfortable with. Mini Lops are naturally curious and will often come to enjoy short outdoor adventures once they trust the process.
A chew-proof carrier is an essential item for every rabbit owner. Cardboard boxes are not suitable — a determined rabbit will chew through one very quickly. A proper carrier comes in handy for vet visits, nail clipping appointments, boarding, cleaning the enclosure and any other time you need to transport your rabbit safely.
Your new Mini Lop should be wormed 10 days after coming home — once they have had time to settle into their new environment. Worming too soon after being moved can upset their stomach. Adult rabbits can be wormed straight away. After the initial treatment, worming should be repeated every three months — four times per year. The worming liquid is simply added to your rabbit’s drinking water and comes with clear, easy-to-follow instructions.
The common house fly is a known carrier of parasitic worms and can infect your rabbit by landing on contaminated material and then on your rabbit’s food, water or bedding. Regular worming protects not only your rabbit but your whole household, as the same parasites can affect humans and other pets.
Rabbits are also prone to mites, mange and fleas — particularly if you have cats or dogs in the home, as fleas will readily transfer between species. A preventative mite and mange spray applied every 12 weeks is strongly recommended, and a monthly flea treatment is advisable if you have other pets. All products are straightforward to use and available in store at Petsville.
Everything you need to bring your Mini Lop home and set them up for a happy, healthy life.
Our Mini Lop rabbit stock changes regularly. Please call or visit us in store to find out what is currently available. Rabbit boarding is also available year-round — see our boarding page for details. Open 7 days at 684 Botany Road, Alexandria — (02) 9669 1766.
Come in and meet them
Our team at 684 Botany Road, Alexandria are here 7 days a week — happy to help you choose the right rabbit, answer any questions and make sure you leave with everything you need. Look for the sunshine yellow building on the corner of Botany Road and Gardeners Road.