Rats vs mice

So I have been reading all over that some people feed rats an others feed mice.Im new to ball pythons and I was wondering wbat is better to feed them as far as nutritional value mice or rats. THANK YOU in advance

Some people claim that rats are nutritionally more sound than mice. But...so far as I know, no one has determined precisely what sort of nutrition a ball python needs...how can we know that one is better than another? Neither are what they would encounter in their natural habitat anyhow.

I have known plenty of ball pythons raised exclusively on both...and the mice eaters can get just as big and stout as the rat eaters and I've never heard of a ball python who became unhealthy due simply to which rodent species they were eating.

My two big questions that a keeper needs to ask are 1.) What WILL my snake eat? And 2.) What can I most readily supply?

If your snake will only eat mice and refuses rats...then there is absolutely no harm in feeding mice exclusively. If you can't find a steady supply of the proper-sized rats in your community...then you also might be better off sticking with mice for the long haul. I really don't believe it's a matter of "nutrition" but one of finding the right balance between the snake's preferences and the keeper's ability to supply a steady, consistent diet.

Wow thank you yet again youare on top of it every one of my questions thank yo so much