Exotic Pet Caretaker (Pet Sitter), Part-Time
House of Guineas LLC — San Francisco & the Peninsula
We’re hiring a part-time exotic pet sitter for in-home care visits with small mammals, reptiles and birds across San Francisco and the Peninsula.
- LocationVisits run throughout San Francisco and along the Peninsula. A reliable commute to our primary SF clients is required, and all work driving, including your commute to and from visits, is reimbursed at the current IRS mileage rate.
- Position TypePart-time, W-2.
- Pay$30/hr. Every 30-minute care visit is paid as a full 1-hour block to cover travel and charting. Major holidays are paid at time-and-a-half.
- ScheduleVisits run in three blocks, by arrival time: Morning (8–11am), Midday (12–3pm) and Evening (4–7pm). We're looking for caretakers available Midday and Evening, Monday through Friday, plus weekends. Caretakers with more blocks and more days get priority.
Our visits follow our clients’ travel schedules. Each one is an in-home care visit with one household and its animals, and our caretakers get to know each client and come back trip after trip. The blocks you share are the windows when we can offer you visits. As our client base grows, visits come in throughout the year, with our fullest schedules during July–August and November–December.
About Us
House of Guineas LLC provides high-standard, in-home care for small mammals, reptiles and birds across San Francisco and the Peninsula. Founded by a former Engineer and Exotic Veterinary Assistant, our company was born from a deep love for unique pets. We believe that to give the best care to the animals, you need to feel your best. This role is independent in the field, and we’re a connected team built on genuine teamwork and clear communication. Off the clock, we’re planning our next escape room, talking about video games and D&D campaigns, or sharing updates about our own pets.
The Position
This role is for caretakers who bring hands-on exotics experience. We’re looking for caretakers who take ownership of their relationships with clients (the pet parents) and the unique needs of every animal in our care. In return, our Coordinator plans balanced schedules so your workload stays sustainable, with time off built in.
The heart of the role is husbandry, and it’s for people who find real satisfaction in the routine care that keeps animals healthy. You’ll meet your clients yourself, learn their animals, and be the one who comes back, trip after trip.
Primary Duties
- Animal Husbandry: Provide thorough, species-appropriate care and habitat upkeep for small mammals, reptiles and birds, including enclosure cleaning, bedding changes, feeding, environmental checks and enrichment.
- Routine Care: Handle small mammals and reptiles for routine care, including nail trims.
- Dietary Management: Prepare species-specific nutrition, including the safe handling and storage of live or frozen feeder insects and feeder mammals for reptile clients.
- Medication Support: Administer oral and topical medications when a pet is on a prescribed course. Comfort with subcutaneous (SQ) injections is a plus.
- Observation & Reporting: Notice and report changes in appetite, droppings, activity, breathing and posture. Your role is to notice and tell us; the team takes it from there.
- Meet and Greets: Lead meet and greets with new clients, walking through each client’s care routine and building the relationship that carries through every visit after.
Client Communication
Our caretakers are a big part of how clients experience House of Guineas, both during visits and between them. You’ll:
- Send photo and video updates during each booking, shared through the client’s photo album, at the frequency you agree on with them at the meet and greet.
- Handle client communication on your assigned days: reviewing new inquiries, answering clients by phone, text and email, and guiding new clients through to their meet and greet.
- Keep the team’s coverage board current, working with our Coordinator and Client Communications team.
Client Safety & Trust
Our mission is simple: pet parents get to focus on their trip, knowing their animals are cared for and nurtured while they’re away. When they come home, their home looks the way they left it, or better.
That trust is built in the small details, every single visit:
- Triple-checking that doors and windows are locked, and enclosure latches are secure, before you leave.
- Confirming heat lamps, lighting and environmental controls are set exactly as the care routine calls for.
- Offering animals only fresh food from clean surfaces, and tossing anything that’s touched the floor.
- Washing hands between households, so every animal’s health is protected.
- Keeping client homes, routines and photos private, so the only people who know a home is empty are the team caring for it.
When Something Goes Wrong
Most days run smoothly. This is care for living animals, so here’s how the rare hard days work. If you see a red-flag symptom, you contact us right away, and we make the call together as a team.
- Transport: If a pet needs to be seen, you may be asked to transport them to a veterinary hospital and act as the communication link between hospital staff and the client.
- Serious situations: Occasionally an animal in our care is elderly or seriously ill. These moments are handled through veterinary guidance and explicit client consent, with the full team supporting you.
Who You Are
- Experienced with exotics, hands-on. Hands-on exotics experience is required. It can come from years of keeping your own reptiles, rabbits, birds or small mammals; working or volunteering at a rescue, shelter, boarding facility or breeder; or a veterinary setting. A veterinary background is welcome.
- Confident with grooming, including handling small mammals and reptiles for nail trims.
- Comfortable with feeders: handling, storing and offering live and frozen feeder insects and feeder animals.
- Hands-on with husbandry: cleaning soiled enclosures, changing bedding, and giving oral medication to an animal who’d rather you didn’t.
- Meticulous. You hold a high standard for cleanliness and detail, and you take pride in an enclosure done right.
- Reliable. You show up exactly when you said you would, and you follow through on every commitment.
- A fast learner. Orientation covers our clients, systems and care standards, and you pick those up quickly.
- Composed and clear. You stay steady under pressure and communicate clearly with clients who love their animals deeply.
- Available Midday and Evening, Monday through Friday, plus weekends.
- Mobile. A valid driver’s license and an operable vehicle are required.
Why Work With Us
- 1-Hour Blocks: Every 30-minute care visit is paid as a full hour to cover travel and charting.
- Paid Travel Time: Back-to-back visits include paid travel time between client homes.
- Holiday Premium: Major holidays are paid at time-and-a-half.
- Mileage Reimbursement: All work driving is reimbursed at the current IRS rate, including your drive to your first visit, between client homes, back home after your last visit, and any trips we ask you to make mid-shift, such as a supply run or a vet transport.
- Company Card: Supplies for client care are covered on a company card, so you’re never paying out of pocket.
- Smartphone Reimbursement: $50/month in any month you work.
- Workers’ Compensation Coverage.
- Team Pet Perks: 20% off House of Guineas care visits for your own pets, plus 50% off our medical-grade cage liners.
Questions
What does this exotic pet sitter job pay?
$30/hr. Every 30-minute care visit is paid as a full 1-hour block to cover travel and charting, major holidays are paid at time-and-a-half, all work driving is reimbursed at the current IRS mileage rate, and there's a $50/month smartphone reimbursement in any month you work.
Is this a W-2 job or an independent contractor gig?
It's a part-time W-2 position with workers' compensation coverage.
Do I need veterinary experience?
Hands-on exotics experience is required, and it can come from years of keeping your own reptiles, rabbits, birds or small mammals; working or volunteering at a rescue, shelter, boarding facility or breeder; or a veterinary setting. A veterinary background is welcome.
Which animals will I care for?
Small mammals, reptiles and birds, in their own homes across San Francisco and the Peninsula. That includes handling live and frozen feeders for reptile clients and nail trims for small mammals and reptiles.
What's the schedule?
Visits run in three blocks by arrival time: Morning (8–11am), Midday (12–3pm) and Evening (4–7pm). We're looking for caretakers available Midday and Evening, Monday through Friday, plus weekends.
Do I have to work the holidays?
Yes. Thanksgiving week and Christmas week (Monday through Sunday), plus December 31–January 1, are our peak care dates, and major holidays are paid at time-and-a-half.
Where do our caretakers live?
Our caretakers live in San Francisco and along the Peninsula, close enough for a comfortable commute to our primary SF clients.
Do I need a car?
Yes, a valid driver's license and an operable vehicle are required. All work driving is reimbursed at the current IRS rate, including your drive to your first visit and back home after your last.
To Apply
Send your resume and a summary of your species experience to alexandria@houseofguineas.com, with answers to the following:
- This role centers on hands-on husbandry: cleaning, feeding and habitat upkeep, often working independently. What draws you to that kind of work?
- Which exotic animals have you cared for, for how long, and in what setting (your own pets, a rescue, a facility, a clinic)? Include your experience with routine care such as nail trims.
- Which days and blocks are you available? For example, “Midday and Evening Monday through Friday, plus Saturday Morning.”
- Please confirm your availability for Thanksgiving week and Christmas week (Monday through Sunday), plus December 31–January 1, our peak care dates.
- How do you picture a typical week of visits with us?
- Hours flex with bookings, with our fullest schedules in July–August and November–December. How does that fit alongside your other commitments?
- Describe a time you had a commitment you couldn’t make. What did you do?
- Do you have a valid driver’s license and an operable vehicle?
- Can you reliably commute to and within SF, and along the Peninsula?
- When could you start?