Hmmmmm. I had a baby needing to be assisted for 3 months and I thought she would never strike on her own. She finally got it though and now she wants a rat every time I feed anything in that room. The good news is that she has never had live and will be a great F/T feeder. Try feeding a different size meal (even one that seems way too small) and see what he can do with that. Also, try just laying a F/T warm rat in front of his hide while he is at rest. This is how I get all my males off a hunger strike. He might just be too excited to actually eat. How exactly are you assisting? Usually when I assist as long as I can get the rat into the mouth and put the snake down they swallow. I know they are getting close to feeding on their own when they actually squeeze the rat after I put it in their mouth. A 2013 snake should not weigh less than 100 grams. Do you have a pic so we can see body condition? If his body condition is good I would say assist sparingly but if he is long and thin, I would assist until he starts eating on his own.