I have both.. The ASF are the best for starting hatchling BPs since I refuse to have mice in my house.. They STINK!!! Omg do they reak! So I use ASF to start hatchling BPs who won't start on rats. ASF move a lot when born and have fur so even the pickiest hatchlings will take them. Then the next meal is almost always a rat fuzz.

I also breed rats and yes they have more of an odor and require more cleaning than ASF but do grow faster. Males have more odor so you just keep less males and more females.

I've never had a single problem with escapees as far as ASF goes. Making the proper tubs (check the stickies) for them works wonders. Plus aggression can easily be bred out.

I kept my ASF colonies even after I greatly thinned my ball python breeding collection just because I enjoy having them around. Plus I always have regular buyers for any excess I may accumulate. They do grow incredibly slowly though. It takes about 3x as long to become breeding age/size for them, and then even longer for them to be considered XL sized as far as ASF go.

So I will continue to breed regular Norway rats for all of my snakes (I euthanize and freeze excess to feed later) and I'll continue to breed ASF even tho I'm not breeding BPs nearly as much simply because they're easy, clean, cute, and fun.

It just depends on what you prefer, what you think will benefit you more, and what there may be more of a market for in your area.