Taako's use of pet names is more a verbal tic than anything else. Sometimes punkin means his beloved apprentice, and sometimes it means the gerblin he's about to magic missle into mist and gristle.

He's not defensive of the shoes, though. They're such an abomination of form and function he can't imagine ferret teeth making it worse. "Look, from my admittedly limited observations, whatever's going on around here seems more like a series of trials than anything else. I am a fucking expert at being locked in a box and tormented for the amusement of twisted skullfuckers, thanks, and they get real bored real fast. Chances are good you can wait it out. In the meantime, uh, watch out for feet and salmonella."