You CANNOT take your snake on the plane even in cargo. If you try, and it's found, it will be confiscated from you. You would need to ship it to yourself using a service like Ship Your Reptiles.
We are already under a lot of scrutiny and have lawmakers that would LOVE to add ball pythons to the list of animals that you can't transport over state lines. The LAST thing we need is a headline article about a college student sneaking their snake onto the plane, either on their person or through cargo.