Ryan Hoyer is suing the Division of Wildlife Resources for neglecting to take proper care of his snakes. He says they are picky eaters, sensitive to temperature changes and need to bath constantly in water.

"If these snakes had simply been provided water and shelter for a year, the vast majority would have been fine. Instead, within eight or nine months, half were dead," Hoyer said. "It is easy to overheat reptiles."

The wildlife division referred all questions to Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's office, which says citizens can't sue government for ordinary negligence.

Hoyer's criminal and civil lawyer, Stephen Spencer, says the state's logic means authorities aren't responsible for destroying valuable evidence that could be jewelry, cash, rare paintings, family heirlooms - or snakes.

Culper paid almost $1,400 to settle charges of unlawfully possessing wildlife in May 2007.

The Utah Court of Appeals upheld that conviction on Thursday.

Hoyer was helping his father, amateur herpetologist Richard Hoyer, research the reproductive habits of the non-venomous snakes. They tried to argue the state's import rules typically apply to livestock, not snakes.