I hold tails on a number of my snakes as that's how they've been fed their whole life and they feed very well that way.
I do also have numerous snakes that won't eat in front of me, so I drop and close the tub and watch from a distance.
Just a matter of knowing your snake and what it's likes and dislikes are.

*I can't believe he said broken ribs *
I may have inadvertently broken many snakes ribs when I first entered the hobby
good thing I feed smaller now