I'm new here and new to Ball Pythons so please forgive my ignorance, but I have a baby male who isn't doing so well and I have no idea what do. Quick stats.

* bought at a reptile expo on 12/10 from a small breeder
* was told he was eating live pinkies and was due to be fed that evening
* he is seven months old
* tub setup (temp 85, humidity between 50 and 60%)
* left him alone for a week to acclimate, per my research before offering F/T rat pup. He refused
* left him alone for another week, again because I'd read it was normal and fine to go long periods without eating.
* offered F/T pinky which I thawed in mouse bedding, heated with a hairdryer, brained and shook with tongs for 10 mins. He just hid his head.
* left him alone for several days and when I checked on him he looked like he was losing weight. His skin was loose and wrinkled and his back was becoming pointed.
* gave him a Pedialyte soak after research suggested he may be dehydrated. He looked a bit better.
* contacted his breeder with his state, and he told me it would be useless to try switching him to F/T and provided me with a few people who may have live pinkies. (I had already called every pet store in my area, live feeders are no longer allowed apparently).
* no one had pinkies. Smallest was a mouse hopper and he assured me he should be able to eat that. I took two.
* offered the hopper several days ago and he struck and killed after much dangling and shaking, but seemed to have trouble swallowing. Struggled for about 2 hours before giving up. Left the hopper in overnight, still there in the morning.
* starting to look worse, very wrinkled, lethargic, eyes look dry.
* after calling the exotic vet and not having available apt for several days, decided to soak again and assist feed. Barely puts up a fight, but was able to swallow pinky.
* looks better today, much more active and alert.

So I guess my questions are... How serious is his condition? How long can a 7 month old go without eating? Why was he on pinkies? Why wasn't he able to get the hopper down? Why was he dehydrated? What do I do now? I don't want to cause him any more stress than necessary so do I assist feed again? If so when and how much? When do I offer the hopper?

I'm sorry, I know this is a lot but obviously I'm not making the right decisions for him, and getting the right info just by researching so I need help. I'm very worried about him so any advice would be appreciated.