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Contrary to his interview this author found photographic evidence indicating a much younger age of first exposure to tortoises. Seen here at age 2 with an Aldabra Tortoise at "Knott's Berry Farm's" old fashioned petting zoo in Buena Park, CA 1972.

Jerry's Turtle Training

From the Beginning

A native of Seattle and a member of a military family, Jerry spent his youngest years growing up in Southern California. It was there in Palos Verde's California, at age 5 that Jerry was first introduced to reptiles. A desert tortoise (he named "SAM") was found sleeping under the neighbor's car. Jerry adopted Sam and kept him as a pet for the next 6 years. At age 11 Jerry leaned the importance of proper pet enclosures: SAM the tortoise had escaped from the yard and was walking down the street, but before Jerry noticed his location, a passing motorist stopped his vehicle picked up the tortoise and drove away, and Jerry never saw SAM again.

Jerry's enthusiasm for herpetology never faltered from the experience. The Novak family returned home to Washington as permanent residents in 1978. As his love of reptiles grew, he went through the usual array of pet reptiles; ball pythons, fence lizards, iguanas, king snakes, salamanders, frogs and of course turtles! Jerry recalls he was only 16 years old when he first started working with turtle breeding. (Then confesses they were actually a pair of box turtles he inadvertently housed together.) Nonetheless after experiencing incubating a clutch of hatchling successfully, Jerry was hooked, and didn't even know it yet.

By 1988, away from home and out on his own, Jerry began to realize how difficult it was to find herpetologists knowledgeable about specifically turtles. Now keep in mind that in 1988 reptile husbandry information wasn't as readily available on the internet as it is today. Exotic Veterinarians were virtually unheard of around here, and finding a vet willing to even take even a single radiograph of a egg-bound turtle was almost impossible. So in order to rear multigenerational offspring Jerry had to do a lot of reading. He read every book he could get his hands on about herpetology or reptile conservation. He began studying parasitological books and teaching himself to recognize parasites under the microscope. He started researching vitamin supplementations and familiarizing himself with nutritional content from various food sources. He sought out people with similar interest, and conversed with anyone who wanted to talk turtle. Jerry has always been a realist and has grown frustrated with college graduates that hold a degree and possess no field knowledge of any kind. He feels that too many students (lose site) studying their curriculum, to the point of missing the obvious right in front of them. So Jerry has always tempered his "book knowledge" with directly relating it to "in field observations" and finding their happy medium.

Jerry recalls reading a book that referenced the Sulcatta Tortoises as common in Europe but rarely successful in captive breeding attempts in the US. As soon as he read the words, he heard the challenge, and he knew he was up for it. As luck would have it he found a pair of sulcattas right away and began his adventure; learning how to make healthy and happy sulcatta tortoises. And that is exactly what he did over the next eleven years, raise healthy happy (prolific) sulcattas.

As the number of turtles increased around him, he weaned himself off the typical pet herps he had keep for so many years, and began focusing on the native turtles and tortoises exclusively. Jerry says people often ask "Why Turtles?" It's simple, too little is known about their importance in the ecosystem! Our lack of knowledge combined with their rapid habitat loss in the wild (from human residential construction) will likely bring many species to the status of "extinct in the wild", within my lifetime.

Jerry's conviction to conservation is probably what led him (by fate) to the Western Pond Turtle Recovery Project. A project started here in Washington by Frank and Kate Slavens as a joint venture between the Woodland Park Zoo & Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, to head start the endangered Western Pond Turtles. Jerry has been a long time volunteer for the project and donates several weeks of his time a year. In early spring they begin trapping turtles, fitting females with transmitters , and monitoring the females through the nesting season. Volunteering for such a project isn't for the faint hearted, these volunteers must brave cold, wet, hot, and windy weather. Check on turtles at 0500 or 2300 or both, depending on the turtle. They must sleep in tents pitched in old barns, eat lots of bologna sandwiches, encounter rattlesnakes, and smash bullfrogs (a mostly futile effort)! Jerry has been a dedicated volunteer with this highly successful program since the late 90's (a few years after its inception).

His first big attempt at breeding "vulnerable species" would have been the Burmese Star Tortoises. A story that took place prior to my meeting Jerry and somehow eluding memory when I interviewed him.

As the new millennium neared, Jerry found himself in need of a new challenge. That's when he found the Asian Blacks {Manouria emys phayrei} . These large slow to mature animals are rare in the pet trade and are one of the many Asian tortoises species succumbing to habitat destruction and native consumption as food. In 2000 this species was upgraded from threatened to endangered on the IUCN Red List. Jerry's personal collection of Blacks started with 3 tortoises and now has grown to include 5 (3 females, and 2 males). This colony has produced successful clutches since their second year here at Turtle Works. The newest member to join Jerry's colony of Asian Blacks is a 17-year-old male named "Tom" . Tom had never been around other tortoises, he had been housed as a free roamer in someone's home and was the sole family pet. His aggressively awkward behavior in attempting to interact socially was obvious to even the newest herpetologist. He lacked the vocalization skills necessary to speak with other tortoises. He would talk (not understood) in short little jumbled bellows, not the long deep vocal calls of a typical male Asian Black. Jerry now wishes he had made a recording of this upon arrival, because it was as if Tom had been trying to speak like a human (the only thing he heard), judging from the unrecognizable acoustical tones Tom's tortoise speech has greatly improved since then, a requirement for impressing the females. It is only on occasion now that Tom bellows out some odd unrecognizable sound that grabs Jerry's attention, like the day he decided to bite into a Walla Walla Sweet Onion. The scream he made drew Jerry out of the house to see what was happening. He found Tom standing with mouth open, spitting up onion pieces, eyes tearing, and hallowing a tortoise scream. Just as Jerry arrived at the scene to witness this drama, Tom leaned down and took another bite of onion.

Jerry was one of the first in the US to have actual legally obtained Fly River Turtles. The Fly River Turtle also sometimes called the Pig Nose Turtle is from Northern Australia and New Guinea. They are an unusual species of fresh water turtle having flippers instead of feet like a "Sea Turtle". They are amazingly good swimmers & only females leave the water and only when nesting. They also have a soft thin skin over their hard carapace shell. Their nose is similar to the American soft shell turtle but shaped much more like a pigs snout. Jerry currently has 3 Adult Male Fly River Turtles, he keeps as personal pets. Without any females there are no current breeding programs planned. These turtles were once legal to import so there are a few potentials out there, unfortunately most Fly River Turtle listings are illegally imported animals. They currently hold a Cites II status as vulnerable.

That brings us up to Jerry's latest IMPRESSIVE project. The Impressed Tortoise {Manouria impressa} of Asia are in desperate need of captive breeding in order to save the species. While they currently are at a CITES II status Jerry feels that the lack of field research on this species has under estimated there numbers in the wild. Little known, and less studied these high altitude Asian tortoises are not good at adapting and have a very high mortality rate in captivity (98% within 6 months). Jerry has had much difficultly with these tortoises that arrive severely dehydrated and heavily loaded with parasites. The first arrivals required daily administered medication and hydration for almost 3 months before they could be moved to an outside enclosure. These are reclusive animals and they require an undisturbed area mimicking their native home before they will show any signs of social behavior. Diet has been a challenge also with these tortoises, as Jerry is still in the process of finding an acceptable compromise between what they need and what their willing to eat. Jerry is quite hopeful as he begins this latest project, as he has already made the first hurdle by having them alive, eating and mating after 6 months.

Jerry continues working with turtles and tortoises always contemplating the next project (a new challenge). Jerry will always keep Pacific Northwest Turtle Works stocked with various turtle breeds for sale as pets, like the map, wood, musk, and box turtles. Pacific Northwest Turtle Works is also the only place you can purchase Jerry's proven (homemade) formulation of nutritional supplements called "Total Turtle pellets". You can also find filters and pond supplies and a limited amount of lighting and heating accessories. Jerry possesses many years of knowledge in herpetology and is an expert in turtle and tortoises care. Whether we have questions about breeding, feeding, health and wellness or you are looking for help building enclosures, providing nesting areas, or dealing with behavioral issues, Jerry can likely help.

Jerry is rather old fashioned and much more of the "in person" kind of guy then one to communicate by email. Jerry is available for phone consultation on any matter relating to turtles and tortoises. If you live even semi locally, Jerry will probably ask to meet with you and the animal in person, his preference always. Jerry Novak will be waiting to hear from you!