Inside the cage. Placing your ball in a separate container causes unneeded stress and is a common cause for balls to go off feed. A lot of pet stores will tell you that feeding in a separate tub helps with cage aggression. This kind of cage aggression is a myth. I personally have been keeping and feeding our snakes in their tubs for many years and I have zero that are food aggressive inside their cages. We have a lot of snakes too. The real issue with a lot of cage aggression is a lot of folks new to the hobby aren't approaching their snakes properly and the snakes view them as a threat. Give me a minute and I'll get you a video on handling and approaching aggressive snakes.