With the Halloween coming and stores starting to stock for the season in some places, I thought it’d be important to remind clown owners and coulrology buff of some simple, Halloween tips to keep your and your funny friend safe and happy this season.
Admittedly I haven’t owned or be around a clown in some years, but my grandfather had a wonderful Bozo mix, Bubbles, when I was young and I’ve been keeping up on current research in the hopes of owning a clown of my own someday soon!
‘Clown makeup’ kits should never be used to change the markings on a real clown.
A clown’s facial markings indicate their overall health and are used to communicate with other clowns; altering them could effect their standing in the troupe and hide signs of illness, not to mention possibly causing distress to the clown theirself. This goes absolutely double for any black and white breeds - adding color to their face or ‘clothing’ will only make them agitated or depressed.
It’s perfectly fine to want to dress up like a clown this Halloween or for your child to dress up like one, just like we dress up as black cats or zebras or lady bugs, but DO NOT use the kits sold in stores on your clown. Your clowns markings are not a laughing matter, and changing them to fit your tastes is inhumane!
Remember to have your clown properly identified
Whether you have them licensed, chipped, or tagged, having your clown properly identified is vital this time of year. A lost clown could easily be misidentified as a costumed human, making the search even harder.
This can be especially difficult because Halloween can be such a fun time for our clown friends, especially scary breeds - there are lots of people to entertain and interact with and lots of sweet treats packed with refined sugar. They’ll probably want to go trick-or-treating with you or interact with groups coming to your house, and it can be a very enjoyable, enriching time, but keep a closer eye on your friend before, least you lose them in the costumed crowds. For instance, Grandpa would let Bubbles go trick-or-treating with us, but he also wore a florescent identifier vest and his tags the whole night.
Halloween candy is not a substitute for a proper diet
Your clown may show interest in candy brought into the house, and you may even be tempted to take advantage of the bulk buying opportunity presented by this season, but Halloween type candy is not a proper diet for any clown species (to my knowledge).
All clowns require meat in their diet and sources of sugar - freshly spun cotton candy is the best option for most clown species, though variation in needs do exist. Halloween type candy (miniatures, chocolates, lollipops, ect.) can be great treats, but they cannot be the base of a healthy diet, and letting your clown eat too much will make them sick. They will beg, they will whine, but do not give in, no matter how cute they are!
@clownbiology @clown-care @coulrology any thoughts, corrections, or additions? Like I mentioned, I’ve tried to keep up on modern research and husbandry but it has been quite a while since I’ve helped care for a clown! Species specific info is also more than welcome, especially mimes and jesters since I don’t know as much about them.
