I'm interested in the amount and composition of food required for breeding captive crocodiles (C. niloticus)
Although its a behavioral study, this one says:
"crocodile food preference was live fish > live chicks > dead fish > ground meat "
*** Morpurgo, B., Gvaryahu, G., & Robinzon, B. (1993). Aggressive behaviour in immature captive Nile crocodiles, Crocodylus niloticus, in relation to feeding. Physiology & behavior, 53(6), 1157-1161.
This other paper has quite a bit of information and some further reading references like....
" A large volume of published information exists on topics such as diet, thermoregulation, reproduction, social behaviour, habitat preference, and population dynamics. The fi rst modern monograph on the ecology of a crocodilian was that by Cott (1961) on C. niloticus. "
" Nile crocodiles display an ontogenetic shift in diet, from insects and small aquatic invertebrates when young, to predominantly vertebrate prey among larger crocodiles (Cott 1961; Wallace and Leslie 2008). "
***Fergusson, R. A. (2010). Nile crocodile Crocodylus niloticus. Crocodiles. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, 3rd edn (eds Manolis SC, Stevenson C), 84-89.
https://www.iucncsg.org/365_docs/attachments/protarea/15_C-cf25967f.pdf
This is one they refer to in the prior paper:
*** Wallace, K.M., and Leslie, A. J. (2008). Diet of the Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Journal of Herpetology 42: 361-368.
Article Diet of the Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) in the Oka...
This website has a bit of info on amount to feed (when rearing other species) with a bit of info on further reading for niles:
"Red meat may produce even faster growth. In the alligator study mentioned above, animals fed on the carcases of nutria I/ were 3% longer and 20% heavier than fish-fed alligators. The meat of game animals has proved successful for rearing Nile crocodiles in southern Africa but comparative data are not available because of differences in temperature and other factors. "
" Published growth rates for Nile crocodiles in captivity are from southern Africa where cold winter months have reduced or prevented feeding. As would be expected, the rates are relatively slow. At Victoria Falls a sample of 50 crocodiles grew by 33 cm/yr their first 27 months (Blake & Loveridge, 1975). Since These crocodiles would have grown little or not at all during the winter the monthly average (2.75 cm) is nor very meaningful. Wild crocodiles grew only about half as fast. "
http://www.fao.org/3/t0226e/t0226e10.htm
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