Well, I think inflating and contracting the body is a good way to visualize recharge times and make the structure look more organic.
I think the fact that the shell isn't symmetric is good, as long as the divergence is so subtle that two Spikers next to each other don't look like twins. (The idea of assymetry is to create the impression that every structure has an individual, random pattern. If you can see that this is not the case, it's better to just go symmetrical.)
made some improvments, increase the density around the hole, i can put some more edge loops if neeeded.
i didint put more edge loops because of the polycount, its currently with 4.2k trys
It's likely that gavlig will be animating the model, so once he gives his approval of the mesh you can consider the mesh done. Really impressed at how quickly you've done this, and I look forward to the end result.
In terms of texture maps, we support diffuse, specular, normal, glow, and gloss. For the spiker, I suppose that a gloss map might not be necessary, but you're still welcome to include one if you feel it's appropriate. Otherwise, we'll want diffuse, specular, and normal maps for the model, as well as glow maps for the eyes. You don't need to blur the glow map too much, our engine has bloom and will blur and brighten the eyes for you.