After 24 hours, i would probably express some concern, especially at her age.

BUT, before you freak out, do the remaining eggs float? That is to say, do you move easily inside of her? If so, try a little physical stimulation. Maybe a bath?

If she has them after 48 hours(retained), i would try palpating them out myself. My track record sucks with this particular procedure, but the other options are deflating the eggs or invasive surgery.

Keep us updated.

My friend had this issue a couple years ago and after a phone consultation with the Barkers (yes those Barkers) she left the female alone and after 72 hours she laid the remaining eggs which were slugs and slightly dry which was why it was longer for them to be laid. In retrospect she said she wishes she had soaked her female and it may have happened sooner but as her snake came to no harm (she is currently in my collection) all is well. Unless or until the female is showing obvious signs of distress, let her be, a soak wouldn't hurt but you have 72 hours before unlaid eggs can start toxemia anyway unless they have been punctures somehow. If you suspect a puncture get her to the vet asap for treatment of dystocia and to prevent any toxemia.

The last egg that came out was a slug, and I suspect that's the case with these remaining three.  I'll keep an eye on her, and hopefully all ends well!

I did soak her last night on the recommendation of a friend who studies reptile veterinary medicine as a hobby, and after initially moving around she simply sat in the water until it cooled down.  I think she may just be tired. Fingers crossed!

I went through exactly the same thing with my Piglet last spring. here's a link to the story.

it was scary to remove them myself, but clearly she would have either required heavy surgery or the eggs inside would have rotted and killed her. I hope your girl will be OK! and if you do remove them yourself, have an extra set of hands there to help you!

also, I'd youtube'd the process and found a video. I'd caution you, though - the 'best' video I found showed a man using a probe tool to widen the vent. in my inexperienced opinion, this is a good way to cause tearing/infection. make sure you have some good lube - at least something like a water-based human-sex style lube or something else very inert. i used antibiotic ointment because I was concerned about infection and tearing, even without the use of a tool, with manual removal.

if you want to me to call you and walk you through how I did last year, pm me your number. however, I'M NOT A VET and I'd definitely recommend getting with your vet on this, at least for advice. my vet was behind me 100% or I never would have tried it, and at the first sign of something going wrong or inability to get the eggs to move, I'd have hauled Pig right into the office for surgery. between my vet's advice and the advice of the breeders on mp.com, and with my pal Dave to help me handle Pig, I felt confident enough to try it - but it's not something undertaken lightly.

good luck!!!!

Females that produce slugs will often lay them first or last.  Rarely are they located within the middle of the clutch.  If at the front, they will sometimes lay them a day or so before the fertile eggs in a different location.  When at the end of the clutch, it's not uncommon for them to hold the eggs until the clutch hatches. 

Ball pythons are hardy and very resilient snakes.  I've personally never had one eggbound, but I've seen enough eggbound snakes over the years to say they usually work out the situation on their own.  On the other hand, I have had to do surgery on a GTP and a couple of kingsnakes.  I left the GTP to the vet but did my own work on the kingsnakes as the eggs were right at the vent. 

If the eggs are close to the vent, you can try opening the vent and using KY liquid to help lubricate the eggs.  This was a tip shown to my by my vet with my GTP and it worked on a kingsnake when I tried it.  You may try it even if the eggs aren't close to the vent.  I'm sure it will all be fine and your girl will live many more years. 

Keep us informed and good luck. 

Still no eggs this morning, and she's still sitting in a loose coil, not looking the least bit concerned about it. I'll try soaking her again tonight to see how she does. 

It's a tough call.  I know what the vet is likely to say (surgery, manually remove them, etc) and I know that she's a healthy, resilient snake that should by all means be able to take care of herself.  It would be easier if it wasn't the one snake I've had nearly my entire life - I literally saved up myself and bought this snake on my 5th birthday.

Wait and see for now and I will definitely keep you guys posted.  Thanks for all the help!

Still no eggs, and she's still the same.  I tried gently palpating them out after a soak and she tensed up against my hands and seemed to fight it.  I have all day tomorrow off to watch her, if she seems to be straining (she hasn't seemed to be yet) I think we'll try aspirating an egg. 

After a lot of debate and deep breaths so I wouldn't freak out, we didn't aspirate the eggs and left her alone for a few more days.  I came home tonight and found one lone egg in the cage next to a little feces.  I incubated it just in case (hey, at worst I have to throw away a rotten egg, at best it's still good).

At this point I'm just going to keep leaving her alone and let her pass the other two on her own.  Mother Nature and a healthy ball python will take care of themselves, apparently!

She just SLAMMED a medium rat today.  Guess she's feeling just fine, 2 remaining eggs or no.  thanks guys!

She passed one more egg today!  And tried to bite me when I took it out.  One more left!

She laid the last one last night.  Thanks all!