You do what you have to do for the life of your snakes. All of my ex-breeder males are way to big to feed a ball python, so they don't have to worry about being dinner. They do have great personalitys, rats can be fun. I will breed a mean female, just for the fact that if she is mean I won't have such a problem when it comes her turn to meet the snakes.
Bite me once and you are on the menu.
My big boys will sit on you, love to be petted, and will take any attention from me they get, or any body else![]()
(I've had "pets" that to me would have been food, chickens, ducks exc..)
Snakes gotta eat, but it does not mean you should stay away from a great animal like a rat.