Bruces skin is peeling..

Question
Hi. I just acquired a Russian Tortoise, Bruce.  He came with a set up in a 20 gal. aquarium. Has heated area, peaty subsoil. water available, UV light. He seemed healthy.  He has a great appetite. He had been primarily fed Romaine lettuce... since adopting Bruce I have introduced him to : a variety of greens, dandelions, nastursuims, clover, kale, rose leaves etc. He has also now been introduced to 'outside' and foraging.  I take him out in the yard (it is still warm) for exercise. He 'swims/soaks' every other day in a warm tub for 15 min or so.  I have been dusting his greens once a day with calcium supplement as well. Today as he was climbing a rock, I noticed his back leg, by the shell, the brown scale-like skin area, seems to be 'peeling' like humans do with sunburn...? He is active, eating well. I am wondering if there is something I need to be concerned about, or do something about? and also how do you 'not' hibernate a tortoise...I had a box turtle that hibernated for 10 years, but did not make it last year. I just let him go into hibernation-mode and he poped up in the spring (I transferred him to a tupperware box to dig into so I could control tempts and conditions..) any advise or sites or books you could recommend on hibernation, I'd appreciate.
My main concern though is Bruce's peeling skin. Thank you, I look forward to hearing from you. We live in Rockport, MA, Bruce used to live across from Fenway Park. (an urban sox fan..) Thanks, Nancy M. nmears@gmail.com

Answer
Peeling- perfectly normal as a result of improved cares. If it is excessive, or seems to be a response to stress we might worry about it. Thin, occasional peeling, however, is good.

Hibernation- This is a controversial subject. Different people have different opinions, and I think I would rather direct you to a couple good sites than try to rehash it here.

Try http://www.russiantortoise.org or
http://www.tortoisetrust.org

They have great info on all aspects of Russian care!