Zoology/Questions Answered by Expert Meryl Green
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Species Interactions with the painted turtle. | 11/6/2010 |
| Q: I am working on a project and I need to find certain interactions with the painted turtle. I would ... A: You might try the following, if you haven't already: For amensalism you might look for a species in ... | |
| future job as an ecologist or zoologist | 9/15/2010 |
| Q: My entire life has always been about animals I'm probably advanced in zoology and ecology in my ... A: If you're not sure about what you'd like to do, I would recommend a biology major. This gives you a ... | |
| what kind of snake?? | 8/22/2010 |
| Q: Husband mowing pasture, must have hit this snake. Live in supply, NC and can't find this snake in ... A: I think there's a good reason you couldn't find it among the snakes :). I believe this is actually ... | |
| Animal communities | 8/3/2010 |
| Q: Are there some animals or birds that do not live in communities? Thanks, Psuedonym84 A: That depends on what you mean by community. A community could be the animals, plants, and other ... | |
| snake ID | 7/15/2010 |
| Q: i have found a snake in the mountain and i was hooping that u help me ID the snake and to tell me ... A: It looks like it could be a Plains Black-headed Snake (Tantilla nigriceps). Here are some more ... | |
| SNAKE ID | 6/21/2010 |
| Q: I have a snake on my lanai. I would like to send you a pik and help me ID it, animal control says I ... A: That's a corn snake ... | |
| SNAKE ID | 6/21/2010 |
| Q: I have a snake on my lanai. I would like to send you a pik and help me ID it, animal control says I ... A: You could have one of many different kinds of snakes, most of which are harmless. These are the ... | |
| identify a snake | 6/19/2010 |
| Q: tonite me and my family were in the garden in the front yard and wit the hose getting wet and fixing ... A: It is very unlikely the snake was coming toward the people, but there are a lot of other reasons it ... | |
| Wolf Behaviors | 5/8/2010 |
| Q: I'm doing a project on wolves and would like to know just a couple things about their behavior. I ... A: Wolves will definitely cache (bury or hide) leftover food (see: ... | |
| Question | 4/26/2010 |
| Q: Do you know where I could find a chat or graph showing a wild animals life span in captivity ... A: That was the best resource I could find. The majority of available information seems to be for ... | |
| Tell what kind of snake this is? | 4/25/2010 |
| Q: This snake came out of the woods on to the lawn. We live in Sout Eastern New Hampshire. Please let ... A: I believe that is an eastern milk snake, Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum. More information about ... | |
| unknown snake | 4/15/2010 |
| Q: I found this snake in our pond and I don't know what kind it is. We have children that plays around ... A: From what I can see, it does look like a water moccasin. If you still have it, you can check (VERY ... | |
| Identify a snake | 4/6/2010 |
| Q: I found a snake in my driveway yesterday and was wondering what kind of snake it was, I took ... A: I can probably help, but it appears your email address was stripped out of the question (probably to ... | |
| large rodant like animal in southern spain | 3/13/2010 |
| Q: hello just like your help to identify a animal i have seen a couple of times in southern spain at ... A: I'm not really familiar with the mammals of Spain, but I did find this list of them: ... | |
| Music and Animal Behavior | 1/26/2010 |
| Q: I am doing a science failr project on how music effects animal behavior but I do not know quite how ... A: You want to try to minimize the number of variables as much as possible. Testing the animals in ... | |
| Music and Animal Behavior | 1/20/2010 |
| Q: I am doing a science failr project on how music effects animal behavior but I do not know quite how ... A: I have an idea of how I would do that experiment, but I don't want to just lay it all out for you. ... | |
| Whose bone is this? | 12/8/2009 |
| Q: Found what looks like a leg bone in the woods, close to a trail. I'm guessing it's from a horse or a ... A: It is indeed a leg. It is the hind leg of an animal that walks on its toes. There are too many ... | |
| insects | 12/3/2009 |
| Q: are insects animals? A: Scientifically, yes, insects are classified as animals. They are part of the kingdom Animalia, ... | |
| Question about Manatees | 11/27/2009 |
| Q: At Sea World yesterday, they had manatees in a big aquarium. I asked the lady working the exhibit if ... A: I hadn't heard that before, but Sea World's own information seems to confirm the lack of a fat ... | |
| Do earth worms have electromagnetic fields? | 11/12/2009 |
| Q: can you please help A: Yes, I think the worms would get shocked, and I'm not sure the paper would create an electromagnetic ... | |
| What is this? | 11/11/2009 |
| Q: I found this "creature" on a bench. I live near the gulf coast of central Florida and have never ... A: I think what you have is a "puss caterpillar", Megalopyge opercularis. The adult is rather ... | |
| What is this? | 11/10/2009 |
| Q: I found this "creature" on a bench. I live near the gulf coast of central Florida and have never ... A: Unfortunately the picture is not focused on the animal. From the details you give and what I can ... | |
| career help! | 11/3/2009 |
| Q: I have just completed a National Diploma in Animal Management in England, I came out of the course ... A: In the United States many organizations offer internships. Some, usually smaller places, are purely ... | |
| cat repredues | 10/30/2009 |
| Q: how many babies can a cat give in birth? A: Domestic cats can have up to 10 kittens in a litter and the average number of kittens in a litter is ... | |
| Snake! | 10/27/2009 |
| Q: I found a snake in my lawn mom says its a grass snake it has a red stripe strait down its back. and ... A: It sounds like it could be a rainbow snake (1) or possibly a ground snake (2), but since I'm not ... | |
| Need to identify a snake | 10/21/2009 |
| Q: We just found a baby snake in our office and need to identify it. We are in Central Florida. ... A: I'm pretty sure this one is a racer. Here's a picture that looks remarkably like yours: ... | |
| My Cat Chewy | 9/24/2009 |
| Q: I have an interesting question to ask you. My 2 Year old male cat Chewy didn't get his name for ... A: I don't think he was taken too early. Typically cat breeders let their kittens go to their new ... | |
| cat cleaning | 9/12/2009 |
| Q: I saw a cat cleaning himself once, and this question came to my head: If a cat cleans itself with ... A: I hadn't thought about that before, but that's a good question. My search isn't turning up ... | |
| Snake | 8/21/2009 |
| Q: I was visiting my parents home today and found a very small black snake with a white ring around the ... A: I believe this is probably a ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus). In my area they are typically ... | |
| zoology colleges | 8/18/2009 |
| Q: I am not sure if you can help, but I live in Kentucky and all the courses I am finding in the local ... A: Any college with a good biology program will fill your needs. I've researched this type of question ... | |
| identify this baby snake | 8/9/2009 |
| Q: This is the second snake I've asked you to identify. It seems they are coming from no-where. It's ... A: This one I'm really iffy on. It -may- be a pine woods snake, Rhadinaea flavilata, but the photos ... | |
| cats | 8/5/2009 |
| Q: what are the kinds of cats in florida A: There are two kinds of cats native to Florida. The Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) lives ... | |
| identify this snake | 7/27/2009 |
| Q: I got a picture of a snake crawling outside. It's been staying in my pond. Can you tell me what ... A: That's ok. I have people all the time wanting me to identify snakes (both online and in person) ... | |
| identify this snake | 7/27/2009 |
| Q: I got a picture of a snake crawling outside. It's been staying in my pond. Can you tell me what ... A: Since that's not a particularly distinct color pattern (i.e. a lot of snakes have it) I'll be better ... | |
| snake | 7/10/2009 |
| Q: i have a snake reddish-brown in color and i found it in north california what is it? A: It could be several things. Perhaps it is a coachwhip: ... | |
| Tiger strenth | 6/28/2009 |
| Q: I have two questions regarding tigers: 1) There is this guy posting on youtub that if he had a knife ... A: Hmm... feels kind of strange to discuss this, but I guess in a way I -am- defending the tiger, eh? ... | |
| Need an identification on a Snake found in our home in Tampa, FL | 6/19/2009 |
| Q: This snake was found in our front foyer. We have no idea how it got in. There is only the front ... A: That looks like a juvenile black racer (Coluber constrictor), which seems to be the most common kind ... | |
| non-bite rabies exposure | 6/2/2009 |
| Q: I was wondering at what risk i am at for rabies exposure. about four days ago i was scratched by a ... A: I don't think you have anything to worry about. Rabies is transferred primarily through bites. It ... | |
| Florida Squirrel Id? | 5/31/2009 |
| Q: I saw a squirrel (?) yesterday at a golf course in Clearwate, FL by the water and I have never seen ... A: That would be a fox squirrel (Sciurus niger), given there are only four species of squirrel in ... | |
| mystery wildcat | 5/28/2009 |
| Q: I have attached a picture of a taxidermy preserved wildcat that was in a condo we rented in Mammoth ... A: That appears to be a poorly done bobcat. I've seen worse, but I've also seen ones you'd swear were ... | |
| zoology | 5/7/2009 |
| Q: i am in middle school.what are things i can do if i whant to be a zoo keper when I grow up A: Now's a great time to start thinking about it. First you'll want to be sure that you really want ... | |
| Snake | 4/2/2009 |
| Q: How do I identify what kind of snake is in my yard? Where can I look for pictures of snakes on the ... A: I tend to start at eNature.com. It's basically Audubon's field guides online. Here's the link for ... | |
| Cheetah dynamics | 3/8/2009 |
| Q: I have a question, and its possibly a bit stupid..but please humour me. Do you think, given your ... A: I seriously doubt an unarmed person could kill a cheetah in most cases. They're built powerfully, ... | |
| Zoology | 3/8/2009 |
| Q: I want to know the full name of the journal Archs. Zool. Exp. Gen. Can you help ? A: This what I found at Biodiversity Heritage Library: "Archives de zoologie exp©rimentale et ... | |
| tadpoles | 3/6/2009 |
| Q: Can you tell me what the largest tadpole is and how big it is? A: The largest tadpole appears to be that of the "Paradoxical Frog" (Pseudis paradoxus), with figures ... | |
| Cat Behavior | 2/9/2009 |
| Q: Is it possible that the reason for the decline or endangered nature of specific wild cats(such as ... A: At first glance this sounds plausible. I don't believe this is a cause, however. Cats are at the ... | |
| Classification | 12/9/2008 |
| Q: I'm wondering why do scientists use scientific name for organism?? A: Many organisms have more than one common name. The cougar, puma, mountain lion, catamount, painter, ... | |
| How to work with wild tigers | 11/28/2008 |
| Q: Fanx A: By working with wild big cats do you mean studying them in the wild? If so, zoology is a pretty ... | |
| lions | 11/28/2008 |
| Q: I am in grade 3 and in science we are to research hearing in lions. Could you tell me how lions ... A: Lions hear much like other animals do. They use vision most when hunting, but hearing is a definite ... | |
| Regarding honey | 11/14/2008 |
| Q: I read that honey is emitted from bees mouth. Is this visible by naked eye? When was was this ... A: From what I understand some of the process will be visible, though probably difficult to see, ... | |
| ahhhh snake | 11/13/2008 |
| Q: my son was taking a bath and screamed snake i need to know what kind it is its small dark with a ... A: Unfortunately I can't tell you exactly what kind it is because I need more information, such as ... | |
| my cat drinking habit | 10/27/2008 |
| Q: My cat is 10 years old,he came to me 4 years ago,recently he is clawing at his water bowl and ... A: That is a bit odd isn't it. I guess my first question, as I don't think you mentioned it, would be ... | |
| Zoo | 10/9/2008 |
| Q: I want to work at a zoo as a zoo keeper. I love animals and i have always had exotic pets. I was ... A: Sorry about the delay, I was actually at the zoo (literally) all weekend :P. I currently work ... | |
| fff | 10/1/2008 |
| Q: which fish eats seaweed A: There are a lot of different kinds of seaweed, found in a lot of different kinds of habitats, which ... | |
| Found a small reddish snake | 9/28/2008 |
| Q: I found a reddish/pinkish snake at my sisters house in Oregon. She lives in the hills with trees. ... A: I'm familiar mainly with Florida snakes, so I'm not positive, but I think you might have either a ... | |
| Wolf gift giving | 9/12/2008 |
| Q: I've attached a pic of a wolf with sticks in it's mouth supposedly giving them to another wolf as a ... A: As I can't locate any information myself, I have a feeling that the person who described the picture ... | |
| Nuptial pad | 9/6/2008 |
| Q: What is the function of nuptial pads that occurs in a male frogs front legs in the breeding season? A: Frogs usually mate in a position called amplexus, where the male "hugs" the female from behind. The ... | |
| Food Web | 9/1/2008 |
| Q: How many food chains are needed to make up a food web? A: Most animals eat several kinds of food and are likewise eaten by more than one kind of animal, so a ... | |
Zoology
Answers by Expert:
Meryl Green
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer questions regarding the ecology, behavior and basic biology of various animal species, particularly cats and Florida native animals. I generally cannot answer questions regarding the physiology of animals. I -do not- know about duck husbandry.
Experience
Eight years as a Docent in the Central Florida Zoo, Education Animal Keeper internship at the Central Florida Zoo, research assistant with the University of Central Florida Beach Mouse Project.
Education/Credentials
B.S. Biology
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.