I don't really like it either. It just seems so...degrading, when applied to an animal known as a Royal Python. I would rather refer to them as a "Potential" or "possible". I mean possible hets are "possible". That's like saying, "Hey, look at my new snake. It's a het pied dinker."
As for where the word came from, who knows? It's probably one those words that people use to mean "mess with" or "experiment with." Kind of like when someone says " I like to sit in the garage and tinker with my bike." or " My car isn't running right. I need to fiddle with the carburetor a bit."...![]()