Redear Sliders

Question
Can redear sliders get worms? I have two redear slider turtles. I have had them for about 10 months are they are about 3 to 4 inches in length. I clean the tank as I normally do and feed them turtle gammarus pellets. I just noticed this morning that there are about a hundred parasites, worms or larva stuck to the glass. They are about as big as a pen tip and are white. I don't know what they are. I took my turtles out as soon as I noticed them. I don't know if they came from my turtles or something else. I did put a shell in the tank a few days ago but took it out ten minutes later because I did not like the shell in the tank. Please help if you can. Thank you.

Answer
Happens all the time, and is not really a problem healthwise.

These can be coming from the food (try the link below for a better diet), or the turtles themselves. If from the turtles, it is a sign of stress that they are passing the parasites.

Give http://www.redearslider.com and/or http://www.austinsturtlepage.com a try for some better diet tips, easier ways to maintain the tanks, etc., as well as a discussion of different kinds of parasites.

Good luck!