I was just reading something similar in another thread. I was kind of thinking along the lines that maybe his hides weren't comfortable for him to get in after a meal and getting in the water bowl was his version of laying in the recliner with his gut hanging out...LOL
Anyway he went back in his hide. I put a smaller water bowl in with water and a large one without water. At least in the morning I'll be able to get an idea of if it's the water he's after or comfort...
The guy I got him from was a breeder and the story I got was the family that had it first bought it as a baby female and was raising it to breed. After a couple of years of unsuccessful pairings with males, the family assumed she was infertile and was part of a trade they made with this breeder for another female. Out of curiosity, the breeder sexed it and found out she was a he, which explained why he never got pregnant...3 weeks later I got him...
Thanks for the suggestion on feeding smaller rats weekly. I'll give that a shot when his feed day comes up next and try it for a few weeks and see what happens...