Millbrae Exotic Pet Sitter
If you live in Millbrae, you live closer to SFO than almost anyone on the Peninsula — close enough that the planes are part of the skyline and the airport is a five-minute hop down the road. That proximity is wonderful right up until the night before a 6 a.m. departure, when the real question lands: who is going to watch the ferret while we are gone? Millbrae is full of frequent flyers — biotech commuters, flight crews, families catching the red-eye out of SFO — and exotic pets simply do not fit the standard travel playbook. You cannot drop a bonded pair of rabbits at a kennel, and a bearded dragon on a fixed UVB schedule needs more than a once-a-day food top-off. That is the gap our team fills.
House of Guineas Pet Care is based in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset, and our team of exotic pet caretakers travels down the Peninsula to provide in-home care for Millbrae households. With the Millbrae BART and Caltrain intermodal station, El Camino Real, and the 101/280 corridors all within easy reach, getting to your door — even before a pre-dawn flight — is straightforward.
Why Millbrae Exotic Pet Parents Choose Our Team
Millbrae sits right between Burlingame and South San Francisco in San Mateo County, and the people here tend to keep tight schedules: airport-adjacent careers, long-haul travel, early commutes on Caltrain. What exotic pet parents tell us they need is a sitter who brings the same rigor to their little ones that they bring to their own work. Here is what sets us apart:
- Veterinary background. Our veterinary-informed team brings backgrounds spanning wildlife rehabilitation to exotic veterinary hospital work, and our founder previously volunteered with the House Rabbit Society, administering subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccines. Every caretaker on our team is trained under that same clinical lens.
- Species specialization. Exotic pets and cats are our whole focus — rabbits, rodents, reptiles, and birds. That focus is hard to find on the Peninsula.
- Clinical-grade care. We can syringe-feed a GI stasis rabbit, weigh a guinea pig on a gram scale, check a reptile’s enclosure humidity, and recognize the early signs of a crop issue in a parrot. We also keep a current map of the San Mateo Peninsula exotic veterinarians, so if something goes sideways while you are mid-flight, we know exactly where to go.
- Flexible scheduling. Early-morning visits before an SFO departure, late-night visits after a red-eye arrival, and mid-day medication timing — we build the schedule around your flight manifest, not the other way around.
Exotic Species We Care For in Millbrae
- Small mammals — rabbits (including bonded pairs and trios), guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters, rats
- Reptiles — bearded dragons, leopard geckos, crested geckos, ball pythons and other non-venomous snakes, turtles and tortoises
- Birds — parrots, cockatiels, conures, budgies, lovebirds, finches
If your species is not listed, call or text us — if we have not handled it, we will tell you honestly and usually point you to someone who has.
How It Works in Millbrae
We start with a free meet-and-greet at your home — a real-time walkthrough of feeding routines, enclosure setup, medication schedules, and your pet’s quirks. For Millbrae pet parents, this usually happens on a weekend or after-work window that fits around the Caltrain commute and the evening rhythm of downtown Broadway.
Once you book, we schedule visits around your travel itinerary. Most exotic pets do well with twice-daily visits — morning and evening — so you can get a fresh salad into the rabbits before you leave for the airport and a proper lights-out check on the reptile enclosure after dinner. We send photo and video updates from every visit, plus written notes on appetite, output, and behavior. If something seems off, we reach out before you land.
Around Millbrae
Millbrae is compact and easy to navigate, and our team covers all of it — from the neighborhoods up the hill toward 280 down to the homes east of El Camino Real near the BART and Caltrain station. Whether you are near downtown Broadway, where the Millbrae Pancake Breakfast draws a crowd each fall, or tucked closer to the Burlingame or South San Francisco borders, we can get to you. The airport-adjacent location that makes Millbrae such a convenient place to live is exactly what makes our SFO-friendly scheduling shine.
Pricing for Millbrae Visits
- 30-minute visits start at $85
- 60-minute visits start at $115
- Twice-daily care runs $140–$190/day depending on visit length and number of pets
Millbrae falls within our Peninsula service tier, so a travel surcharge of $15–$25/visit applies, depending on distance. Text us your address and dates and we will confirm your rate.
Routine care reaches Millbrae as well. Millbrae’s BART-and-Caltrain commuters know how short a weekend can feel, so we offer standing weekly or every-other-week routine care visits — their caretaker covers the enclosure deep-clean, hay restock, weigh-ins, and a gentle health check, leaving your Saturday mornings free for lap time with your little ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you really travel to Millbrae for exotic pet care?
Yes. Our team travels from San Francisco to Millbrae via the 101 and 280 corridors. Millbrae sits right next to SFO, so it is one of the most common Peninsula requests we receive — especially from frequent flyers.
I'm flying out of SFO — can you cover early-morning or same-day visits?
Often, yes — especially for pet parents we already care for. Millbrae is only a few minutes from SFO, so our team can slot in an early-morning visit before a pre-dawn departure or a same-evening visit after you land. For families new to us, we still need a meet-and-greet in advance, so it is best to text us at 415-484-6493 as soon as your trip is on the calendar.
What if my exotic pet needs medication while I'm traveling?
Medication administration is part of our standard service. Our team is trained across the full range — oral syringe meds, topical treatments, nebulizer sessions, and subcutaneous injections — a clinical bar set by our founder, who previously administered subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccines with the House Rabbit Society. If your pet is on a complex protocol, share it during the meet-and-greet and we will match the schedule exactly.
Can I board my exotic pet with you instead of in-home sitting?
Absolutely — members of our team host boarding personally in their San Francisco homes, an easy hop up the 101 from Millbrae. It runs $75 per night, spots are limited, and we ask that you bring your pet's usual enclosure and supplies.
How much does a Millbrae exotic pet sitter cost?
Most Millbrae families flying out of SFO book twice-daily care, which runs $140–$190 per day depending on visit length and the number of pets. On their own, 30-minute visits are $85 and 60-minute visits are $115. Millbrae falls within our Peninsula service tier, so a travel surcharge of $15–$25/visit applies, depending on distance — text us at 415-484-6493 with your address and dates and we will confirm your exact rate.
Ready to lock in coverage for your next trip? Call or text us at 415-484-6493 and we will get a meet-and-greet on the calendar. You can also read more about our in-home exotic pet care service, look into boarding with our team in San Francisco, browse the full FAQ page, or check the San Mateo Peninsula exotic veterinarians directory if you are still getting set up with a local vet. New guinea pig parents in Millbrae — our guinea pig care guide is a good starting point.