Well, after nearly 2 hours of Googling through just about anything involving PETA, I found nothing about them adopting from CL to further their own goals. The only thing I found was some articles where PETA is pressuring CL to end FTGH pet ads. What I did find, was this little gem of an article, from a few months ago, on a PETA Watch groups website. The behavior of the snake in the article sounds exactly like a Ball Python, but once again, the accompanying "stock" photo is a little off the mark.
To me, the pictured snake looks suspiciously like a Dumerils Boa. Or maybe, it's the Ball Python in a Halloween costume...
http://www.petawatch.com/2011/07/vip...sus-snake.html