General Care Discussion :: My turtles shell

[Sapphire]

I have to say that Simon was not very impressed with me plucking him out of his tank. He hissed quite a bit at me.
However, I wanted to get some opinions on his shell. I have had him for about a month now and I am making some progress towards improving his overall health, however I am concerned that he has a case of pyramid shell and he does not seem to be shedding his scutes.

Turtle: 6" male
Tank: 70 gallon aquarium
Temperature: 79 F in the water and 84 F basking spot
Lighting:
1 x 5.0 UVB light 8" above the basking spot
1 x T5HO dual fixture above the tank running 1 daylight and one actinic 50/50 bulb
Filtration: AC70 internal and Fluval 104 filter
Water Change schedule: 75% biweekly

pH: 7.0
NO3: 0.05
NO2: 0
NH3/NH4: 0
Substrate: River stone (minimum 1" diameter)
Take Decor: Inert lava rock, granite rocks, and driftwood
Tank cohabitants: 9 platties and 1 6" pleco (fully quarantined)
Plants: Duckweed and Water sprite (For his grazing pleasure)

Food: In addition to the floating plants we have been offering him fresh romain lettuce and greenleaf lettuce.
For a pellet we have switched him from a high protein content turtle stick to the ZooMed "Natural" aquatic turtle food Maintenance Formula which has 25% protein and added vitamins and minerals.

Simon's Shell Photos:

[muiyo]

I have to say, my RES's shell looks about the same... but that could either mean both turtles are ok or both are pyramiding a little.

[steve]

It's a bit of pyramiding. You need to feed much less protein and start introducing more variety/vegetables.

[muiyo]

oooh... not so good... I'm guessing that happened to my turtle before I did commercial food every other day and lettuce in between.

[Gracie Turts]

yeah, looks like there's a little pyramiding.
you got a great start on the diet though.
just make sure to be consistent with feeding (ie no food for begging) and feed less protein foods than before.

[Diamondbacks4Life]

Hes about to shed too, every time he shed I find the shell gets smoother. After a coupld sheds he shell will be smooth again.