Well, obviously ball pythons grow faster on a diet of rats--this is probably LARGELY because rats are more massive, and many ball pythons refuse to eat more than a few mice in a single meal--not enough to make up for the mass of a single small or medium rat.
Apart from that, it's clear from the nutritional chart that rats are higher in fat, and this probably contributes to the higher weight gain in rat-fed ball pythons as well.
Since ball pythons fed on rats, asfs, or mice all appear to be fine and healthy, I don't think any of these rodents is lacking in any necessary nutrition.
For breeders, getting the snakes on a diet that causes them to gain weight more quickly and grow larger would seem to be preferable. I have a couple of mousers in my collection, and no matter how many mice I try to offer them, they will only eat so many--as a result, they are hundreds of grams behind my ratters in weight and size, though they are the same age.
Cal/phos ratios in adult mice and rats are pretty similar. Cal/phos ratios in baby rats are significantly better than in baby mice.
Overall nutrient profiles--with the exception of protein content, rats would appear to be more nutritious than mice.
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