I like to put on a blindfold and dangle the rat by it's tail from my teeth while sticking my head in the cage. It gives me a real rush.
Seriously though, I always feed in the cage, I've never seen any benefit to moving the snake to a feeding tub. A good set of 12" or longer hemostats is in my opinion, required equipment for any snake keeper, it will greatly reduce feeding accidents. I've probably tried every substrate known to man at one time or another and I always keep coming back to newspaper. I order rolls of unprinted newspaper from www.uline.com
Good Luck, boas are great A good 2' X 4' cage will make a lifetime home for any but the largest females.