They don't eat on a daily basis, as their energy comes from the sun (external heat) rather than food consumption. In other words, crocodilian need food for nutrition, but not for energy. For that reason, they do not need to eat often. Alligators are also in the crocodilian family (along with gharials, cayman) and have the same basic eating patterns. The alligators at the zoo near me only eat twice a week. They eat a portion of a chicken, a rat and a fish each feeding (the portions and sizes of their food items depend on the size of each gator). This is only in late spring, summer and early fall, however. Once the water temperature gets below 68-73 degrees Fahrenheit (the lower end with wild gators and crocs, higher with captives) they quit eating altogether until warm weather returns ...which pretty much means for the rest of the winter. In the wild, they don't eat on any set schedule or in particular portions, but do stop eating for the winter, if they live in climates where the temperature drops low enough during those months.
