There are many different rabbit breeds that you could pet. These rabbits have various characteristics, including short ears, long ears, long hair, short hair, giants, dwarfs, etc. We will be covering the best types of rabbits for pets including the Holland Lop, Lionhead rabbit, Netherland Dwarf rabbit, Lop, Angora, Rex, Polish, etc.

Most rabbit owners testify that rabbits are just as cute, cuddly, smart, or playful as the average cat or dog. However, one major difference with rabbits is that they have higher maintenance in comparison. They require consistent daily care, and different breeds have their unique personality, physical characteristics, and needs.

For instance, some breeds may love cuddling, while others will hop away when you try to cuddle them. Different breeds also have differing susceptibility to health problems. For example, the Netherland Dwarf has a high risk of developing malocclusion, a condition where the upper and lower teeth misalign when their jaw closes.

Apart from this, rabbits also have general health issues that could lead to health deterioration when not addressed. Therefore, if you own a pet rabbit or are looking to get yourself or your family one, you’ll need to consider each breed carefully before committing. However, as long as you give the rabbits proper care and attention, then you are sure to enjoy your experience as a rabbit pet owner.

This guide is meant to provide you with detailed information regarding the various types of rabbits for pets, their size, personality, ease of care, their health, and lifespan. In addition, we hope that you can find your preferred breed so that you get to enjoy your rabbit pet experience fully.

Best Rabbits For Pets

Lionhead Rabbit

If you love rabbits and want to keep one as a pet, then the Lionhead rabbit may be what you are looking for. They are the best types of rabbits for pets; plus, they look like a miniature lion complete with a mane. One look at the little bunny is sure to make you pack him up and take him home.

The Lionhead rabbit is categorized among one of the newer rabbit breeds that came about due to a genetic mutation and selective breeding. The rabbit comes in either a single or double mane, the signature look responsible for their name, with mostly solid body colors.

Lionhead Rabbit Facts

• Weight: The Lionhead rabbit weighs about 2.3lb to 7.5lbs.
• Color: Tortoise Mini satin (Blue, Black, Lilac, or Chocolate), Blue Mini satin, Chinchilla, Silver Marten Satin (Blue, Black, Lilac, or Chocolate)
• Notable features: The bunny has a large Furry mane that encircles its head.
• Personality: Lionhead rabbits are curious, willing to play, gentle, but easily frightened. However, being small and fluffy makes them some of the best house rabbits you could ever want to own.
• Health: Lionhead rabbits are prone to dental disorders because of their smaller heads and somewhat longer lower jaw. There’s a chance that they could suffer from mandibular prognathism leading to abnormal teeth growth or dental wear patterns.
• Lifespan: 7 to 10 years.
• Handle them with care, especially from a young age, to help them gain trust with people and make them friendlier.

Netherlands Dwarf Rabbit

The Netherlands Dwarf rabbit originated in the Netherlands and is one of the most popular rabbits worldwide. This rabbit breed is the smallest worldwide and is best known for its compact body and small ears. The Netherlands Dwarf rabbit used to be white; however, crossbreeding led to various colored breeds of solid or shaded colors.

Netherlands Dwarf rabbit isn’t considered one of the best breeds for children; however, they could be great bunny rabbit pets for adults.

Netherland Dwarf Rabbit Facts

• Weight: The Netherlands Dwarf weighs 1.1 to 2.5 lbs.
• Color: Blue, Black, Chocolate, ruby-eyed white, blue-eyed white, Lilac, Siamese sable, Sable point, Siamese smoke pearl, and Tan patterns.
• Notable features: Netherlands Dwarf rabbits are known for their small body size and ears.
• Personality: These rabbits can be shy and skittish; however, they are generally friendly.
• Health: They can develop dental problems because of their rounded heads. Look for signs of tooth troubles such as drooling, food refusal, or dropping food.
• Lifespan: 10 to 12 years
• Netherlands dwarf rabbits enjoy living in quiet and calm environments.

Holland Lop Rabbit

The Holland lop rabbits are popular as show rabbits, and they originated in the Netherlands. They are quite small compared to other rabbits and can have either a solid or broken coloring. They are excitable by nature and can be fun to play with; however, you may also have a hard time trying to get them out of their cages.

The Holland Hop rabbit may not be the perfect breed for families with children since they can avoid cuddle time if they don’t feel like it; however, they get along with children in a general sense. It would be good to supervise any time they have with children.

Holland Lop Rabbit

• Weight: They weigh between 2 to 4 lbs.
• Color: Come in a wide range of solid and broken colors
• Notable features: They have large, floppy ears and medium length fur
• Personality: They are very energetic and active. They are also friendly but may, at times, resist being picked up if they don’t feel like it
• Health: They don’t have any major health concerns apart from the standard rabbit health care concerns
• Lifespan: 7 to 14 years.
• It would be good to supervise their playtime with children

Dutch Rabbit

People originally bred Dutch rabbits in England. They are popular because of the unique color pattern on their fur, and they are a bit larger than the dwarf breed but are still a bit small compared to all rabbits in general.

Dutch rabbits are some of the best types of rabbits for pets since they love cuddles, they’re very active, and they don’t mind the frequent chaos involved with petting them.

Dutch Rabbit Facts

• Weight: Dutch rabbits weigh between 4 to 5.5 lbs.
• Color: they have a distinctive black and white coloring
• Notable features: Dutch rabbits have dark ears and a dark bottom with a wedge of white fur up their face.
• Personality: they are quite gentle, calm, and pleasant. They may get easily depressed, especially if they are left cooped for a long time.
• Health: they have no notable health concerns apart from those of regular rabbits.
• Lifespan: 5 to 8 years.
• Dutch rabbits are very calm and friendly around children.

American Sable Rabbit

The American sable is a crossbreed of the chinchilla rabbits and several other breeds. The rabbit has a soft but dense coat that requires more grooming than other, average to short-haired rabbits. In addition, their coat sheds more during molting periods because of its thickness, which means that you’ll need to be prepared for regular, heavy brushing during this period.

American Sable Rabbit Facts

• Weight: The American sable rabbit weighs between 8 to 10 pounds
• Color: They have a sepia color on their feet, head, ears, back, and the top of the tail, with the remaining part of their coat fading to a lighter tan like Siamese cats.
• Notable features: They have a soft, dense coat
• Personality: They are sweet, playful, and active
• Health: they are susceptible to the effects of overgrown teeth, especially if they don’t have anything to chew on that could help them grind down the teeth naturally.
• Lifespan: 5 to 8 years
• American sable rabbits are suited for a diverse selection of owners, including families with children.

Britannia Rabbit

Britannia rabbits have a compact body, and they evolved from England’s polish rabbit. They have a full arch body type with an arch that begins from the base of the rabbit’s short neck and continues to the base of its tail.

The rabbit has a wedge-shaped head and large eyes, with short, pointed ears that sit vertically to its head. These rabbits were quite popular in the show business and are more likely to offer good companionship for rabbit lovers.

Britannia Rabbit Facts

• Weight: Britannia rabbits weigh from 2 to 2.5 lbs.
• Color: There’s the red-eyed white, the blue-eyed white that has broken patterns, and a variety of different shades like chestnut agouti, sable, and black otter.
• Notable features: They have a short neck and an arch that extends from their neck to their tail.
• Personality: They are curious, energetic, excitable, and sweet.
• Health: They have no major health issues apart from normal rabbit health requirements.
• Lifespan: 6 to 10 years
• Deworm the rabbits bi-annually.

Giant Angora Rabbit

The giant Angora rabbit remains one of the oldest domestic rabbit breeds. The rabbits are big with giant round heads and foreheads that are slightly narrower than their muzzle. They have cheek furnishings as well as facial forehead tufts.

Giant Angora Rabbit Facts

• Weight: The giant Angora weighs 9.5 to 10 lbs.
• Color: They come in various colors ranging from black, brown, grey, white, and other broken colors.
• Notable features: The rabbits look massive with commercial size bodies.
• Personality: They tend to be shy, docile, and gentle.
• Health: The rabbits run the risk of wool-block while cleaning their fur. If they swallow the wool, it leads them to think that they are full. So they’ll refuse to eat and die of starvation.
• Lifespan: 7 to 11 years
• Provide them with a proper diet with the best hay for rabbits, which they can chew to prevent overgrown teeth.

Flemish Giant Rabbit

The Flemish giant rabbit is quite big on the rabbit scale: however, they are gentle giants that love cuddling with children and other pets in the house. They are also some of the best types of rabbits for pets because of their great personality. They can be kept indoors and form great companions for rabbit lovers.

Flemish Giant Rabbit Facts

• Weight: The Flemish giant rabbits weigh between 9 to 15 lbs.
• Color: They have short, glossy, and dense fur, and they come in various colors.
• Notable features: They are huge, which has earned them their nickname, king of the rabbits.
• Personality: They are also identified as gentle giants because of their sweet, docile nature.
• Health: They aren’t prone to any particular diseases or health complications; however, it would be best if you kept a constant check on their health or signs of illness.
• Lifespan: 5 to 8 years.
• Provide them with large quantities of food.

Checkered Giant Rabbit

The giant checkered rabbit is often reared for shows, and it was introduced in the US in the 1900s. The rabbit is muscular but slender, and it can grow as long as 35 inches and as tall as 3 inches. The checkered giant stands out from the rest because of its unique color combinations.

Checkered Giant Rabbit Facts

• Weight: They weigh between 10 to 15lbs.
• Color: They have a checkered coat with unique color combinations of a white coat with blue or black markings.
• Notable features: Their massive size, and Arched body-type
• Personality: they are active, friendly, and gentle; however, they aren’t the most affectionate
• Health: They don’t have any unique health conditions; however, like all other pet rabbits, you’ll have to inspect them regularly, clean them and provide them with enough food.
• Lifespan: 5 to 8 years
• They are great for couples, singles, older kids, and the elderly

Polish Rabbit

The Polish rabbit is another dwarf rabbit that you can keep as a pet without looking for lots of space. You could keep them in your apartment, with a sizable pen where they can move around for exercise. They have the best traits for indoor rabbits.

Polish Rabbit Facts

• Weight: They weigh between 2.5 to 3.5lbs.
• Color: they have six distinct colors: blue-eyed white, ruby-eyed white, blue, black, chocolate, and broken patterns.
• Notable features: They have a soft, short fly-back fur
• Personality: They are calm, cuddly, and affectionate
• Health: They have no health issues apart from common rabbit concerns
• Lifespan: 5 to 6 years
• The rabbits are great companions for small children; however, it would be best to exercise caution when the children carry them to avoid dropping them.

Rex Rabbit

The rex rabbit has well-rounded hips, ribs, loin, and shoulders, all of which complement each other. Their heads are broad and set close to their body with erect ears, an average, plush fur that’s evenly covered, with short and straight legs.

Rex Rabbit Facts

• Weight: 7.5 to 10.5lbs.
• Color: The rabbit has 16 color varieties, including opal, chinchilla, black, amber, Californian, seal, castor, and broken.
• Notable features: They have a stunning physique and a friendly nature.
• Personality: They are intelligent, playful, affectionate, and calm
• Health: Like most rabbits, the Rex Rabbit is also prone to problems that come about due to overgrown teeth. Please provide them with lots of hay to chew on and check their ears for mites regularly.
• Lifespan: 5 to 6 years
• Check to see whether they are ingesting any hairs during their molding period. If they are, it would be great if you took them to a veterinarian.

Angora Rabbit

There are five types of angora rabbit breed: the English angora, the French angora, the Satin angora, the Giant Angora, and the German angora. The Angora rabbit, famously grown for its wool, is of medium size and can make a great pet rabbit for you and your family. They are also one of the best types of rabbits for pets.

Angora Rabbit Facts

• Weight: 5 to 7 lbs.
• Color: The angora rabbit comes in four colors- Fawn, white, cool grey, and warm grey
• Notable features: The rabbits produce lots of wool; however, if you want them to be even more wooly, you’ll have a few times yearly to encourage fur growth
• Personality: the angora rabbits are quite intelligent and gentle. They love to play and snuggle; however, they don’t like being picked up.
• Health: Take extra care when carrying them to avoid injuring their spine
• Lifespan: 5 to 8 years
• Take extra care when children have some playtime with the rabbits to avoid causing them injury.

Californian Rabbit

The Californian rabbit is known for its dense, lovely coat and gentle nature in the pet community. However, many people tend to keep these rabbits for their dense meat, but their fur looks amazing, and you are likely to love them as companions because of their gentle nature.

Californian Rabbit Facts

• Weight: 8 to 10.5 lbs.
• Color: Broken light-grey and beige patterns
• Notable features: They have a muscular body with full hindquarters and shoulders. They also have a coarse and dense coat.
• Personality: They are a bit shy and mild-tempered and love to cuddle when they’re fully friendly with the owner.
• Health: They have no major health concerns apart from those common to all rabbits
• Lifespan: 5 to 10 years
• They are not ideal for children because of their mild temper; however, if they are properly socialized, then there are better chances that they can tolerate being petted and held

Conclusion – Best Types of Rabbits Used For Pets

If you seek some of the best types of rabbits you could keep as pets, then this list may be what you need. We’ve done our analysis and come up with a list of some of the most loveable, friendly, beautiful, furry companions you could ever need, and all you need to do is choose the rabbit breed that you love the most. What rabbit do you have? Or what breed of rabbit would you like to get today?