Do Crocodilians Eat Plant Material? A Review of Plant Nutrients Consumed by Captive Crocodilians

Abstract

Several species of crocodilians consume, digest, and benefit from plant nutrients, and the animal food industry has made important efforts to use different plant materials in the development of new pellets for these animals. This information is very important within the ambit of captive breeding and crocodilian nutrition. The search for plants to supplement the diets of crocodilians is important because it may help to satisfy the nutritional demand of captive crocodilians and reduce the costs of their feeding and production. These initiatives have been mainly focused on animals such as fish and poultry, although some research has also been carried out with crocodilians. The demand for crocodilian skin and meat spiked during the 1990s. Since then, efforts have been amplified to investigate the use of different plants in the development of artificial diets to replace or complement the diet of different crocodile species, without interfering with product quality, health, and animal development while keeping production cost low. To achieve this, the existing information about the main and new sources of plant raw materials used to feed crocodilians must be known.