Yeah, lots of unanswered questions here.
I have two air fryers, a smallish one with a slide out tray, and a largish one that looks more like a toaster oven (glass door that opens downward). The first absolutely isn’t big enough for a rat to fit, and the second could maybe fit one, but it’s nowhere near big enough to not notice.
I could see a mouse though, especially smaller field mice. I don’t think it would “explode,” but I could see blood from it trying to escape frantically.