Reptile Sitter San Francisco
Ask around San Francisco for someone who will actually come to your home and care for a reptile, and you hit the same wall most exotic pet parents do: there is almost nobody. The listings you find are either boarding facilities that want you to pack up and transport your animal, or businesses based over in the East Bay who treat the city as an afterthought. And for a reptile, transport is not a small thing. A bearded dragon’s enclosure is a carefully calibrated little ecosystem — a basking spot dialed to the degree, a UVB bulb on a schedule, a humidity range held steady. Move all of that, and you are not just inconveniencing your pet; you are dismantling the system that keeps it healthy. What most reptile parents actually want is simple: someone who comes to the reptile, leaves the enclosure exactly where it is, and knows what they are looking at. That is the gap this page fills.
House of Guineas Pet Care is based in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset, and our team of exotic pet caretakers provides in-home reptile care across the entire city. Your dragon stays on its own basking rock, your gecko keeps its own humidity, your tortoise grazes in its own space — and we come to them.
Why San Francisco Reptile Owners Choose Us
- Veterinary background. Our veterinary-informed team brings backgrounds spanning wildlife rehabilitation to exotic veterinary hospital work. Our founder previously worked as an exotic veterinary assistant at Bay Area Bird & Exotics Hospital and volunteered with the House Rabbit Society, administering subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccines — and every caretaker on our team is trained under that same clinical lens.
- Species specialization. Exotic pets and cats are all we do — reptiles, small mammals, and birds. That kind of focus is genuinely hard to find in San Francisco.
- Clinical-grade care. We can read a temperature gradient across an enclosure, confirm the basking spot and UVB output are where they should be, monitor humidity against your species’ target range, and recognize the early signs of illness before they become emergencies.
- Flexible scheduling. Early-morning visits before a flight, evening lights-out checks, mid-day misting or feeding — we build the schedule around your reptile’s routine and your itinerary, not the other way around.
Reptiles We Care For in San Francisco
- Bearded dragons — the most popular pet reptile we see, and one we know well (see our dedicated bearded dragon sitter page)
- Leopard geckos, crested geckos, and other geckos — from belly-heat leopard setups to room-temperature, high-humidity crested habitats
- Turtles and tortoises — aquatic, semi-aquatic, and terrestrial, each with their own water quality, basking, and UVB needs
- We also care for many other lizards — text us about your species and we will tell you honestly whether it is in our wheelhouse
A note on snakes, and one that reflects how closely we follow the animals we work with: San Francisco’s municipal code prohibits keeping boas, pythons, and venomous snakes within the city. So in San Francisco we focus on the reptiles that are legal to keep here. For legal, non-venomous species kept outside the city — on the Peninsula — ball pythons, corn snakes, and other common constrictors are legal, and we care for them there. Knowing exactly which animals are and are not legal in the city is part of doing this professionally.
What In-Home Reptile Care Involves
Reptile care is environmental care first. On every visit our caretakers confirm the temperature gradient — a proper warm-side basking spot and a genuine cool-side retreat, so your reptile can thermoregulate the way it needs to. We verify that the UVB lighting is functioning, since inadequate UVB is one of the most common and most preventable causes of illness in captive reptiles. We check humidity against your species’ target range and mist when the setup calls for it. We handle feeding to your animal’s schedule — fresh greens, appropriately sized insects, calcium and vitamin dusting, and gut-loading where needed — and we spot-clean the enclosure so waste and uneaten food do not sit. And through all of it we are watching: appetite, activity, shedding, posture, and the subtle early signs that something is off, so we can flag it to you before you land.
San Francisco Neighborhoods We Serve
We cover the whole city — from the Sunset and Richmond out west to the eastern neighborhoods and everything in between. Reptile keeping tends to cluster in a few areas, and we serve them all, including the Mission District, SOMA, and the Castro. Wherever you are in San Francisco, we can reach you.
Pricing for Reptile 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 the complexity of the setup
Because this is in-city San Francisco, there is no Peninsula travel surcharge — the prices above are what you pay. If you would rather your reptile stay with us, boarding is hosted personally by members of our team in their San Francisco homes for $75/night. You can read more on our in-home exotic pet care page.
Substrate changes and UVB checks, handled like clockwork. Plenty of San Francisco reptile keepers book standing routine care — weekly or every-other-week visits where their caretaker swaps out substrate, verifies temps and UVB output, refreshes water, and does a calm health check, so the habitat stays dialed in and your reptile keeps basking happily.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you care for snakes in San Francisco?
San Francisco's municipal code prohibits keeping boas, pythons, and venomous snakes within the city, so in San Francisco we focus on the reptiles that are legal to keep here — bearded dragons, geckos, turtles, tortoises, and other lizards. For legal, non-venomous species kept outside the city, on the Peninsula, we are happy to discuss snakes case by case. Text us at 415-484-6493 and we will tell you honestly what we can do.
What if my reptile needs medication or assist-feeding while I travel?
Medication and assist-feeding are part of our standard service. Our caretakers are trained in oral syringe feeding, topical applications, and administering medications on a set protocol — training shaped by our founder's earlier clinical work as an exotic veterinary assistant, which included administering subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccines with the House Rabbit Society. If your reptile is on a complex protocol, share it during the meet-and-greet and we will match the schedule exactly.
Can you maintain my reptile's heat and UVB schedule?
Yes — this is the core of what in-home reptile care is. On every visit we confirm the temperature gradient, verify the basking spot and cool side are where they should be, check that the UVB lighting is functioning, and monitor humidity against your species' target range, misting when the setup calls for it. Inadequate heat or UVB is one of the most common and preventable causes of illness in captive reptiles, so we watch it closely.
Do you offer reptile boarding?
Yes, though spots are limited. Team members host boarding personally in their own San Francisco homes for $75 per night, and you bring your reptile's usual enclosure and supplies. Because moving a calibrated habitat is stressful for the animal, most reptile families land on in-home visits instead — we are happy to help you weigh the two.
How much does a San Francisco reptile sitter cost?
Because the enclosure never moves, you pay only for a caretaker's time in your home: $85 buys a 30-minute check of temperature gradient, UVB, humidity, and feeding; $115 covers a 60-minute visit when the routine runs longer; and twice-daily care lands at $140–$190 per day for habitats that need a morning and an evening cycle. In-city San Francisco visits carry no travel surcharge. Text us at 415-484-6493 with your address and dates for a firm quote.
Ready to line up care for your reptile? 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, our boarding option, hosted by members of our team in their San Francisco homes, or browse the full FAQ page. For species-specific fundamentals, see our reptile and amphibian care guide, and if you are still getting set up with a vet, our San Francisco Bay Area exotic veterinarians directory is a good place to start.