leopard tortoise lumps

Question
HI
About 4 mounths ago i bought a baby leopard tortoise.
he is about 7 mounths old now.
ever since I got him he had a small lump on the back of his neck,now the lump has gotten bigger,its about the size of a small pea.the lump has a small "crack" like tear on it and the lump seems a bit dry.
I live in south africa ,so hes in the sun for about 6 hours every day,due to the lack of no pet store ,i cant buy a uvb bulb.
I soak him every 2nd day for about 7-8 minutes and his diet consists of mainly butter lettuce,romain lettuce,zuccini ,carrots and whenever i can i give him a small amount of cuccumber.i supplemnt his diet with magic earth calcium supplement every seccond day.

we have no reptile vets here ,and regular vets are extremely expensive abou R900 or $110 per hour for a consultation.

please help me ,ive grown very fond of my new pet,and i do whatever i can for his well being.

Answer
Hi Yash,

Can you post a picture?  It's very hard to say what the lump might be, other than that it's not normal.  It could be a small abscess or cyst, or something else.  If it's starting to crack, you can try cleaning it daily with a diluted Betadine solution (providone iodine) and then treating with an antibiotic ointment, but if that doesn't help I'm at something of a loss since there are no herp vets there to treat him.

He should be outside (with plenty of shade available) all day, and then bring him at night if there are predators where you are or the nights are cool (below 65F).  If he's getting as much outside time as you say, you don't need to worry about UVB indoors.  Extend his soaks to about 15 minutes, and make sure he always has a shallow water dish outside (a nice mud wallow is great, too).  

You do need to improve his diet.  Their diet should consist primarily of grasses/hay and leafy greens, without veggies and fruit.  Lettuce is OK as part of the diet, but shouldn't be the mainstay because it's lower in nutrition.  Don't give cucumber at all, because it has almost no nutrition (mostly water) and tortoises can get addicted to it and may refuse good foods.  Some good greens to offer are turnip (greens), dandelion, kale, collards, raddichio, escarole, chicory, grape leaves, mulberry leaves, prickly pear cactus, and hibiscus flowers.  Fresh grass or hay (I don't know if you can get hay there) can be chopped and mixed with the other food, and it's also a good idea to have grass growing in his pen outdoors.  

Rather than dusting his food with calcium, provide a cuttlebone (sold for birds) in his enclosure so he can nibble it at will.  That way, he's regulating his intake and won't eat more than he needs.  

If you can possibly post a picture, I can try to find out what the lump might be.