New Baby Ball Python

Question
Last Sunday we purchased a baby ball from petco. They told us that they fed every Thursday and were feeding frozen/thawed fuzzies (mice) so we attempted feeding this past Thursday to no avail. We have some experience with snakes. ie: our son has a 3 yr. old blizzard corn who is doing very well. The ball python is housed separately of course. He is in about a 20 gallon reptile enclosure-has a temp gradient of 85-88 under his warm hide with a hide on the cool side plus a huge water bowl-he is on aspen-also have an infrared bulb on top of the screen that is keeping the ambient temp on the warm side around 80-82. I will admit that I am a worry wart-I have read so much about how hard it can be to get baby balls to eat. I don't want to loose him and I absolutely do not want to take him back to the pet store! After our conversation with them last night on the phone I am really concerned-they told me that all of their snakes were not eating and they thought it to be because it is winter. Would a baby snake stop eating in the winter-I could understand this if it were an adult. I also asked them if they kept a record of when the snakes were fed and their answer was "no". I am astounded and mad at myself because I didn't ask this when we purchased him. I don't even know where he came from. Well, I suppose my question is, we have only had him for 4 days when we tried to feed him. Do you think that was too soon?  We also did not handle him at all so he wouldn't be stressed out any more than he probably is. We when did try feeding him, we put him in a plastic shoebox with the thawed/warmed fuzzy and turned out the light but we only gave him probably 20 minutes to see if he would eat. How would you suggest trying it next time and when should we try to feed him next time?  
Also I have not seen him out of his hide at all since we brought him home and he explored his whole enclosure and then found the hide on the warm side and that's where he has been since.  At the store and last night when we attempted to feed him, he has a great disposition, is not extremely shy, does not ball up but seems very curious about his surroundings. Sorry for the long post, trying to include everything I can think of. Also how would I tell if he is dehydrated? Or would he be dehydrated with a large bowl of water in his enclosure?
Look forward to hearing back from you. Thank You -Kelly

Answer
Hi Kelly,
  For once, Petco may be right on something. BPs act odd any time of the year, especially in winter. They should keep a feeding record and it is irresponsible of them not to. I do not think that he is dehydrated, but it is possible if he doesn't get in his bowl much. I suggest this: Soak him 2 X per day in lukewarm water for 30 min per. Wait a couple days, then offer food once every 4 days. If you are feeding frozen / thawed, put it in his hide (on a hard, no porous surface). He will eat in time, so don't worry too much. Also, raise the temp 2 - 4 degrees to increase his metabolism. I find that this works a lot of the time. If you get really worried, feed live (supervised only). Let me know how it turns out or if he doesn't eat within 14 days.