Rabbit Sitter San Mateo
San Mateo has a quietly serious rabbit community. Between the families in Hillsdale, the longtime residents around Aragon and Baywood Park, and the newer Bay Meadows crowd, rabbits show up in more San Mateo homes than people realize — often as second pets after a cat or dog, often adopted from Peninsula Humane Society right up the road in Burlingame. What’s harder to find is a rabbit sitter who knows what they’re doing. House of Guineas is here to fix that.
Our team is based in San Francisco and we travel down the Peninsula several days a week. Your rabbits will be cared for by our veterinary-informed team, with backgrounds spanning wildlife rehabilitation to exotic veterinary hospital work — our founder, Alexandria, previously worked as an exotic veterinary assistant and volunteered with the House Rabbit Society in Richmond, where she administered subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccines under vet direction. Our team also shares their homes with rabbits of their own: Chungus and Puppy Dog (a bonded pair), Johnny Wohnny (an HRS foster turned forever rabbit), and Princess Lady, who is bonded with Johnny. Rabbits are not a side service. They are the center of what we do.
Why a Vet-Trained Rabbit Sitter Matters in San Mateo
San Mateo is not as far from a 24/7 exotic ER as Foster City or Hillsborough, but it is still far enough that catching things early really matters. A generalist sitter who’s used to dogs and cats will miss the early signs of a rabbit emergency. Our team knows exactly what to watch for.
- RHDV2 vaccine awareness. California is endemic for Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease. We will not handle unvaccinated rabbits in homes where vaccinated rabbits are also present, and we can talk you through getting the vaccine if you haven’t yet.
- Bonded pair handling. A bonded pair handles your absence dramatically better than a solo rabbit, but the medication and care protocols are different. We know the difference.
- GI stasis recognition. A rabbit who’s stopped pooping is a medical emergency, not a wait-and-see situation. We watch for the early signs at every visit.
- Local hay sourcing. Most pet stores in San Mateo carry hay that’s been on the shelf for months. We can recommend better local sources for longer trips.
- Litter and hideout cleaning that respects rabbit psychology. Rabbits are territorial. We don’t deep-clean while you’re away and disrupt their scent landscape — we maintain.
What’s Included in a San Mateo Rabbit Visit
- Hay top-up (timothy for adults, alfalfa for babies under six months)
- Fresh greens prep — washed, sorted, portioned to your rabbit’s diet
- Pellet measurement (we do not free-feed)
- Water bowl or bottle change
- Litter scoop
- Floor sweep around the enclosure
- Exercise time in the rabbit’s usual run-around space
- Photo and video updates from every visit
- Written notes on appetite, fecal output, water intake, and behavior
If your rabbit is on medication — oral, topical, or sub-Q — we administer it. Walk us through the protocol at the meet-and-greet.
San Mateo Neighborhoods We Serve
- Hillsdale
- Aragon
- Baywood Park
- Bay Meadows
- Sugarloaf
- Beresford
- San Mateo Park
- Shoreview
- Hayward Park
- North Shoreview
We also cover homes near the San Mateo Public Library, the Caltrain corridor for commuters, and the stretch toward the Foster City border. If you’re closer to Coyote Point or the bayfront, we’ve got you.
Pricing for San Mateo Rabbit Visits
- 30-minute visits start at $85
- 60-minute visits start at $125
- Twice-daily care runs $155–$215/day depending on visit length and number of rabbits
San Mateo is in our Peninsula service tier, so a travel surcharge of $15–$25/visit applies, depending on distance. Text us your address and dates for a firm quote.
Litter boxes, hay runs, weigh-ins — consider them covered. San Mateo rabbit families often book recurring routine care: weekly or every-other-week visits where their caretaker refreshes the whole setup, restocks the hay, logs a gram-scale weight, and does a gentle head-to-tail check, so your time at home goes to zoomies and binkies instead of buckets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you handle bonded rabbit pairs in San Mateo?
Yes — bonded pairs are actually our preference. A bonded pair handles the stress of you being away dramatically better than a solo rabbit. The main thing we ask at the meet-and-greet is whether the bond is rock-solid or relatively new, and whether either rabbit needs separate medication.
Do your caretakers handle rabbit medications?
Yes. Every caretaker on our team handles oral, topical, and subcutaneous medications as standard scope — including the trickier case where one rabbit in a bonded pair needs meds and the other absolutely does not. The training traces back to our founder's time volunteering with the House Rabbit Society, where she previously administered subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccines under vet direction. Show us the protocol at the meet-and-greet and we will keep it right on schedule.
My rabbit isn't vaccinated against RHDV2 — can you still help?
Yes, with one caveat: we will not handle unvaccinated rabbits in homes where we also visit vaccinated rabbits, because of the cross-contamination risk. If your rabbit is the only rabbit on our schedule that day, we can still come. We strongly recommend getting the vaccine — Peninsula Pet Hospital in Burlingame and most exotic vets in San Mateo County administer it.
How do I find a San Mateo-area rabbit vet?
Our Peninsula exotic vet directory lists the exotic-savvy vets we know of in San Mateo County. All Pets Hospital in San Mateo and Peninsula Pet Hospital in Burlingame are both convenient options for San Mateo residents.
Ready to book in-home rabbit care? Call or text us at 415-484-6493 and we’ll set up a free meet-and-greet. You can also browse our rabbit care essentials guide, our broader San Mateo exotic pet sitter page if you’ve got more than one species at home, or our in-home services and FAQ pages for more detail.