Growths on toes

Question
Hi,
    Thanks for all your past help.   My dwarf Netherlands bunny is doing better after 3 teeth surgeries since February.   He is eating and active, especially at night, but I took him in this week about what seems like a growth on the inside toe of a back foot.   The area where the toenail meets the paw is large and pink.   The doctor said since it wasn't bothering him, we should monitor it carefully.
    He has since then been licking another paw, and I cradled him to look at his feet to find that on both of his front feet he has significantly smaller but similarly-colored areas on the inside toes where the toenail meets the paw.   I am going to take him back on Monday, but although the word cancer has come up, the fact that the growths are all on the same inside toes on the three foot seems strange.   The original large tumor could be removed, according to the vet, in a procedure he said would be similar in invasiveness to declawing one toe on a cat.
     I was wondering if this sounds like anything else.
He is in a wire-bottomed cage but has 2 pieces of peg board that he sits, sleeps and eats on.   
    Thanks for your always helpful advice.

Answer
Dear Robert,

Before resorting to something as drastic as toe amputation, I would ask the vet about trying anti-inflammatory drugs, in case this is simply inflammation caused by the surface he's living on.  I would provide him with soft, 100% cotton mats to lie on, and I'm betting this will improve the situation.  It is not natural for a bunny to have only wire or hard wood to stand an walk on, and not healthy for his feet.

If there is any evidence of infection/pus, then I'd ask about doing a culture and sensitivity test:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/culture.html

to see what antibiotics would be most effective at nipping this in the bud.  Cancer could be identified via biopsy without removing the toes, and to tell you the truth, it's pretty uncommon in the area you describe.  An abscess or simple inflammation are far more common.

I'm glad his teeth are improving, and hope this will help you get his feet back in order soon, too.

Dana