The mini lop is a popular breed of rabbit that is friendly and playful. You can train mini lop rabbits because they’re intelligent. They are small and have various colors.
Here’s more about mini lop rabbit characteristics, lifespan, care, and more.
What Is a Mini Lop Bunny?
A mini lop bunny is a popular pet because they are adorable. They are one of the lop rabbit breeds. Lop rabbits range in size from English lops, which are the biggest, to mini lops, which are the smallest. Other lop rabbits include Holland lops, French lops, lion lops, and dwarf lops.
Mini lop rabbits are small and lop-eared. They’re often confused with dwarf lops. Dwarf lops are overall bigger but have smaller ears than mini lop rabbits.
What Are Mini Lop Rabbit Characteristics?
You can easily recognize a mini lop bunny by its floppy or lopped ears, button nose, and big eyes. The mini lop rabbit size is small. They are smaller than dwarf lop, French lop, and English lop bunnies but may be larger than Holland lops. Adult mini lop rabbits weigh about 4.5 to 6.5 pounds. They have a thick, stocky body and a slightly wider hind region.
They are compact rabbits — which are small, light, and short in length. They have dense fur in various colors. They have lopped ears because of a genetic mutation or change introduced while breeding rabbits. Mini lops have shorter skulls than wild rabbits. Their skulls look box-like and flattened in the face area.
What Is the Mini Lop Rabbit Lifespan?
Mini lop rabbits have an average lifespan. Wild rabbits live for one to two years. But domesticated rabbits can live between eight and 12 years. With proper care, mini lops can live longer if they avoid disease and are fed the right diet. Also, smaller breeds of rabbits tend to live longer lives than larger breeds, similar to dogs.
What Does Mini Lop Rabbit Care Involve?
Mini lop rabbits may seem low maintenance. They do need proper nourishment, housing, companionship, exercise, and mental stimulation to stay healthy and live longer. A mini lop bunny is friendly and cuddly. But you must take care, hold them gently, and place them lightly. This can help you prevent injury from dropping. Also, their ears are sensitive to pulling.
Grooming. Mini lops have dense fur that molts or sheds twice a year, similar to other rabbits. Their ears are long and may collect dust or mites. Grooming and cleaning the ears every few weeks is important to prevent unwanted shedding and ear issues. Also, schedule regular checkups with the vet to keep your mini lop healthy and vaccinated. Follow these mini lop bunny grooming tips:
- Make sure your mini lop rabbit’s vaccinations are up to date.
- Clean your rabbit’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth with a damp cloth or cotton swab. It helps keep them free from mites.
- Remove loose hair using a comb, brush, cloth, or your hands several times a week. It helps ease the process when the rabbit molts or sheds.
- Bathing is not recommended for rabbits because it can cause them stress. If you notice stains, rub them off with a washcloth dipped in white vinegar. Then rinse the spots thoroughly to prevent your mini lop from consuming the vinegar.
- Clip or trim your mini lop bunny’s toenails when they grow or become sharp.
- Your rabbit’s teeth keep growing. Provide rabbit chews or a piece of wood to maintain the size of its teeth.
- Mini lops have small skulls. They can’t reach and clean their bottoms easily. Check their bottom cleanliness.
Feeding. Monitor a mini lop bunny’s diet to avoid reactions like bloating, diarrhea, or food poisoning. Control the portions according to the bunny's weight. Your vet will help you with the diet routine to be followed.
Don’t feed your rabbit waste or spoiled food. Also, avoid giving it cabbage, beans, or lettuce, as these can cause gas. Give your mini lop rabbit a continuous clean water supply through a water bottle. Avoid giving it water in a dish because it promotes bacterial growth and can lead to drowning. Water bottles prevent the liquid from entering your rabbit’s lungs.
You can give your mini lop apples, pears, banana and citrus fruit peels, carrots, cauliflower, leafy vegetables, grass, or hay. These provide vitamins, fiber, and other nutrients to maintain your rabbit’s health. You can also give rabbit feed or pellets.
Rabbit feeds can be of three types. Concentrate feeds have pellets, supplements, and grains like oats, barley, wheat, corn, and soybean. Dry roughage feeds have hay and straw. Succulent feeds include green grass and leafy vegetables.
Housing. You can keep your adorable mini lop inside or outside your house. Provide enough space for the rabbit that is safe and easy to clean. For a mini lop bunny, you’ll need a well-ventilated space of 180 to 360 square inches with a height of 15 to 35 inches.
A wire-walled cage can help keep your mini lop safe indoors. For outdoor living, use a wire or wooden shelter. You can place planks at the bottom of the cage or shelter to prevent injury. Add a small litter box filled with newspaper and pellets in a corner. Place hay or a blanket on the cage floor to create a cozy space for your rabbit to sleep. In another corner, keep the rabbit feed and hang a water bottle.
If you keep your rabbit outdoors, move the shelter to different areas based on the weather. Place it in the shade during warm weather to prevent overheating. Check and clean your mini lop’s cage or shelter regularly. Change the bedding and contents of the litter box once a week.
What Are the Risks Associated With a Mini Lop Bunny?
If you're not careful and don’t nurture your mini lop rabbit properly, it can fall ill, get diseases or infections, and even die. You also need to vaccinate your rabbit to prevent disease.
Mini lops are at risk of flea or mite infestation, especially in their ears. They're also at risk of a respiratory infection caused by Pasteurella multocida bacteria and Myxomatosis, which is a viral disease that causes swelling in the rabbit’s body.
Lop-eared rabbits, including the mini lop bunny, are prone to ear abscesses or swelling due to bacterial infection. Check the base of your mini lop rabbit’s ears for signs of swelling, dirt collection, or pus formation. If you notice swelling, take it to the vet immediately for treatment.
Because mini lops have short, boxy skulls, they can have teeth problems like misalignment or overgrown teeth. The roots of the teeth can grow uneven and enter the eye sockets, affecting their eyes and tear ducts. If the rabbit has weepy eyes, is not eating food, or eats only soft food, it may have teeth or eye problems. This requires your vet’s immediate attention.
