What do I do with this poor baby?

[tttaylorrr]

welcome to the forum!!! i'm going to go over a couple points on your post to try and clarify some things and offer advice:

* tub setup (temp 85, humidity between 50 and 60%)

could you expand on your temps a bit? there are 3 temperatures you should know at all times: heat source temperature, enclosure hot spot temperature, and ambient (air) temperature. also, what is your enclosure like and what equipment are you using? heating elements, thermometers, etc.

the main reason young ball pythons don't eat is due to poor husbandry. you need to get your husbandry 100% correct before trying any more soaking or assist feeding.

* left him alone for a week to acclimate, per my research before offering F/T rat pup. He refused

switching from mice to rats can be a struggle, let alone from live to F/T, so a refusal is unsurprising.

* 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.

rat or mouse??

* 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).

it is not impossible or useless to try and switch. i'm not sure what this breeder was thinking telling you this.

* looks better today, much more active and alert.

"active and alert" along with "better" are not words i'd use together to describe a ball python. an active beep is usually stressed.

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?

ball pythons are very efficient with their food intake and metabolism. a 7mo old at a healthy weight can last quite a long time without food. how much does your snake weigh? let's start here: