A small French Lop sitting in a garden

French Lop Rabbit Insurance, Care and Health Advice

The French Lop originated in France and is a popular breed of pet rabbit. If you’re looking for a French Lop to join your family, this breed guide gives you all the information you need to know about this easy-going, sociable breed.

French Lop Rabbit Facts

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Type
Lop-eared
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Lifespan
6 - 8 years
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Size
Very large
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Weight
4.5+ kg
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Temperament
Easy-going, sociable, playful
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Exercise
2 hours 2x a day
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Grooming
Low maintenance

Is a French Lop Rabbit Right for Me?

The French Lop is a big rabbit, so you need to be prepared to cater for their needs. They’re not the best breed choice if you’re a first-time rabbit owner because they’re a bit higher maintenance than your average bunny!

Ideally, they should be kept indoors so they have plenty of space to run around in all the time. But they’ll also need a large outdoor enclosure so they can get exercise time outdoors to run and jump with the grass between their toes.

They make the perfect house rabbit and great family pets. If you’re happy to care for this dog-sized bunny, and cater for their ‘larger’ needs, then a French Lop will be perfect for you.

A grey French Lop rabbit sitting on grass

Life with a French Lop Rabbit

Living with a French Lop will be like having a small dog running around the house! Their personalities are huge, just like their size. They thrive on interacting with their humans. French Lops want your attention to interact and play with but will love quiet time and cuddles too. There’ll never be a dull moment with a French Lop in your life.

Caring for Your French Lop

Like all rabbit breeds, the French Lop needs a diet high in fibre. This includes lots of high-quality fresh hay, grass, fresh vegetables and fruits. Some fruits contain quite a bit of sugar though, so they shouldn’t eat too much of them.

French Lops are a particularly big breed, so you might need to feed a small amount of rabbit pellets too. If you do give them some pellets, make sure you don’t overfeed them.

French Lops are prone to becoming a little overweight which can lead to obesity and other health problems. So, keep an eye on their waistline and contact your vet if you’re worried at all about their weight.

French Lops have longer than average fur length, so grooming is important to keep their coat in good condition. A weekly groom should do the trick. But when they start shedding, you will need to groom more often to help prevent any uncomfortable knots or tangles.

Rabbits are great at grooming themselves, but if you help them out it can help prevent other issues like hairballs. It also means you can give them a quick check over for signs of any other health issues. In particular look out for ear problems which lop-eared rabbits often suffer from.

If you start grooming your bunny when they’re young, they’ll quickly get used to it and will love the attention. If you’re unsure about how you should groom your rabbit, ask your vet, they’ll be happy to show you what to do.

This breed thrives on human interaction, so they bond very quickly with their owners. This makes training a French Lop particularly easy. Once your bunny has cracked litter training, you can teach them to do all sorts of things. Using positive reinforcement like clicker training you can teach them to come when you call their name, play fetch or teach them how to ‘high five’.

Exercise is important for all bunny breeds, but even more so for the French Lop. They’re a huge breed that needs as much exercise as they can get to stay fit and healthy. They’re prone to putting weight on, so their diet and exercise balance is critical. Wild rabbits can roam over 3 miles every day, this gives you an idea of how much exercise rabbits really need. Exercise also stops your bunny from getting bored which can lead to behavioural issues.

If your French Lop lives indoors, they’ll get some exercise roaming around the house. But having a run around outside for a few hours twice a day is ideal. Make sure their outside enclosure is nice and bit and always keep an eye on them. Unfortunately, even though they’re quite big, they still make easy prey for unwelcome garden predators.

If you give your French Lop lots of space to run, play and hide in with lots of toys to play with and toys to chew on, they’ll be a very happy bunny!
 

A French Lop rabbit sitting on a log

French Lop Insurance

Everypaw’s Lifetime Rabbit Insurance has three levels of vet fee cover for you to choose from to help you and your French Lop. As well as helping to cover vet fees, our bunny cover also comes with a range of additional benefits including Complementary Treatment, Physiotherapy and Finding your Rabbit (for if they ever hop off).

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Common French Lop Health Problems by Vetstream

As with most rabbit breeds the French Lop can be prone to some health problems. But, because of their shape and size, French Lops are particularly prone to dental and ear problems. We’ve joined up with veterinary experts Vetstream to help you identify any potential problems.

Dental Malocclusion happens when a rabbit’s top and bottom teeth don’t line up properly. Rabbit’s teeth grow continuously, so it’s very important that they slowly wear them down by chewing and gnawing. Wearing the teeth down happens naturally if the teeth line up properly. But, if they don’t, they can become overgrown. 

Rabbits with overgrown teeth will struggle to eat or drink properly. If your bunny suffers from malocclusion, they will need to visit the vet for regular dental treatment. Your vet will gently file down the teeth while your rabbit is under an anaesthetic. In severe cases, this might need to be done every 2 to 3 weeks.
 

Fly Strike is a condition caused by flies that are attracted to dirty or wet fur. The flies lay their eggs on the rabbit which hatch into maggots in a very short space of time. The maggots then start to burrow and eat into the skin of the rabbit causing serious suffering to the rabbit. It can be life threatening if left untreated.

Fly Strike is common during the warmer months of April to October. But it can happen at any time of year. If your rabbit shows signs of restlessness, irritation, has wet fur or is smelly around the tail take your bunny to see your vet immediately. If caught early Fly Strike can be treated, but it all depends on how much damage the maggots have already caused.

Obesity can lead to all sorts of problems, but it can be difficult to tell if your rabbit is overweight. When weight gain occurs gradually you may hardly notice a change. French Lops are particularly prone to weight gain, especially if they’re not neutered.

Maintaining a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise is the best way of preventing obesity. If your rabbit is overweight, they’ll become unfit and won’t be able to exercise very well.

They might struggle to groom and keep themselves clean. This means their coat will become dirty and could lead to skin and parasite problems. Obese rabbits with dirty bottoms will attract flies. This can lead to fly strike if it isn’t treated early. Fly Strike is a life-threatening emergency, and you must call your vet if you think your rabbit has fly strike. 

Otitis is a common ear condition in lop-eared rabbits, often caused by mites. It affects the ear canal and other structures in the ear making it inflamed and painful. It’s a good idea to check your rabbit’s ears regularly so you can spot any early signs of infection. You can do this while you’re grooming your rabbit.

If your rabbit has otitis, you might notice them scratching their ears a lot or they might just generally look under the weather. If this happens, you will need to take your rabbit to see your vet so they can examine their ears and treat any infection.

Quick French Lop Q&A

French Lops get very big! Although they’re not the biggest rabbit breed (that’s the Flemish Giant), they can still weight in at a hefty 7 kg. But an average French Lop usually weighs somewhere between 5 and 6 kg.

All being well and with their weight kept in check, you can expect this breed to live to around 8 years old.

Definitely! The French Lop is such a sociable breed. They love to live with other rabbits, and other pets like cats and dogs too. But before they do, they must all be socialised properly.

That’s All You Need to Know About French Lops

This breed is a big one that can weigh up to 7kg! They’re probably not the best breed choice if you’re a first-time owner because of their size. They’ll need lots of space indoors and out, and a healthy diet to keep them on top form. French Lops can become overweight so plenty of exercise and the correct diet are particularly important in this breed. Despite this, their lovely nature and characters make them great pets for all the family.

Content provided from Vetstream's Vetlexicon Lapis – www.vetlexicon.com/treat/lapis

Vetlexicon is the world’s largest peer-reviewed online clinical reference source. All our content is written and peer-reviewed by over 1,000 of the world’s leading veterinarians, ensuring relevance, accuracy and quality.

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