Rabbit warts on ears

Question
Hello Doctor:
My inquiry is the following. My 5 year-old rabbit has a wart-like structure on its right ear. It started out as a very tiny, hard lesion, it felt as a beach-sand grain. It kept like that for many months, until it suddenly grew. It had a rough, sessile appearance, but then it changed. It looks now as a pedunculated, hyperkeratosic lesion. The color in its base resembles that one of his normal skin, and the lesion itself is whittish-pinkish in color, with hyperkeratosis in layers, with each layer formed by spicule-like extensions from the pedicle, and on its apex, it has a brownish hue. In all, the lesion has 1x1 cm, and, apparently, it stopped growing. Is it malignant? I would really love if you could help me, because I don't live in the US, and vets in the country where I live in only know about cats and dogs.  I'm also worried, because my rabbit has other sand-grain structures on the same ear. Thank you

Answer
Dear Diana,

Rabbits sometimes develop papillomatous growths on their ears, but they are usually not malignant or life threatening.

The only way to positively identify the growth would be to excise it and have it sent to a pathology lab.  If the wart is pendulous, the vet might be able to just use a little bit of Marcaine local anesthetic and snip it off.  (Stand by with cauterizing powder, because those little suckers can really bleed!)

Hope this helps.

Dana