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.
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