I am finally able to say, I have a steady and reliable rattery going here.
Here's the costs vs. buying rats for my snakes without breeding! I have about 25 rats right now, counting pinkies.

Rat bedding: works out to cost roughly $4/ week for aspen shavings.
Rat feed: I bought a 50# bag of rat pellets sometimes last YEAR and have barely went through half of it! I put it in buckets to keep it fresh. That bag cost $25.

Do the math: it's either this, or spend roughly $20 a WEEK for live rats for my 4 ball pythons! I feed live/prekilled to everyone except my boa, who gets f/t and is not being counted in the "4 snakes" I mentioned above.

And now, a few pics:
My American slate male:



His two sisters, almost up to breeding size.

My

The second most recent litter; just weaned! From a different mother. Unhappily in a bucket for cage-cleaning.



Some current pinkies; 14 in this litter!!