San Carlos Exotic Pet Sitter
San Carlos earned its nickname — “The City of Good Living” — for a reason, and the people who settle here tend to be exactly the kind of pet parents who would never leave their little ones with just anyone. Tucked between Belmont and Redwood City in San Mateo County, San Carlos is a residential, professional community strung along the Caltrain, 101, and 280 corridors. Its residents travel — for work conferences, for business meetings, for the long weekends that make living on the Peninsula worth it — and the night before they leave, the same question surfaces: who is going to take care of the rabbits? Exotic pets do not board well, and most kennels are not equipped to handle a bonded pair of bunnies, a bearded dragon with a precise UVB schedule, or a conure who refuses to eat unless someone talks back. 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 San Carlos households. From the neighborhoods up in the hills to the homes near downtown, we are comfortable working around the rhythms of a city that runs on Caltrain timetables and after-work walks along Laurel Street.
Why San Carlos Exotic Pet Parents Choose Our Team
San Carlos is full of people who pay attention to detail — engineers, clinicians, designers, founders — and what exotic pet parents tell us they need is a sitter who approaches exotic care with the same rigor they bring to their own work. Here is what sets us apart:
- Veterinary-informed team. Our team’s backgrounds span wildlife rehabilitation to exotic veterinary hospital work. Our founder previously worked as an exotic veterinary assistant 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 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 sense of the local exotic vet landscape, so if something goes sideways while you are out of town, we know where to go — see our San Mateo Peninsula exotic veterinarians directory.
- Flexible scheduling. Early-morning visits before a flight out of SFO, late-night visits after a redeye, and mid-day medication timing — we build the schedule around your itinerary, not the other way around.
Exotic Species We Care For in San Carlos
- 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 San Carlos
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 San Carlos pet parents, this usually happens on a weekend or an after-work window that fits the commute home off the 101 or a Caltrain ride up Laurel Street.
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 work 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 are back.
San Carlos Areas We Serve
San Carlos is a compact city, so wherever you are, we can get to you. We cover homes up in the hills west of El Camino Real, the flatter residential blocks closer to the Caltrain station, and the area around downtown Laurel Street. We also serve households near the San Carlos Airport and the Hiller Aviation Museum, and we are happy to work the corridor toward both the Belmont and Redwood City borders.
Because San Carlos sits right between two of our most-requested Peninsula cities, our caretakers are often already routed through the area, which can make scheduling easier than you would expect.
Pricing for San Carlos 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
San Carlos is in our Peninsula service tier, so a travel surcharge of $15–$25/visit applies, depending on distance from our Inner Sunset base. Text us your address and dates and we will confirm your rate.
Routine care is available in San Carlos as well. For families who would rather spend an evening strolling Laurel Street than scrubbing a cage, we offer standing weekly or every-other-week routine care visits — their caretaker handles the enclosure deep-clean, hay restock, weigh-ins, and a gentle health check, so your little ones get a spotless home and your undivided attention.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you really travel to San Carlos for exotic pet care?
Yes. Our team travels from San Francisco to San Carlos via the 101 and 280 corridors. Because San Carlos sits right between Belmont and Redwood City, our caretakers are frequently routed through the area for Peninsula visits.
What kinds of exotic pets do you care for in San Carlos?
Just about anything small, scaled, or feathered — plus the family cat. Small mammals range from bonded rabbit pairs to guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters, and rats. Reptile care covers bearded dragons, leopard and crested geckos, turtles, tortoises, and ball pythons and other non-venomous snakes, which are legal to keep in San Carlos. For birds, think parrots, cockatiels, conures, budgies, lovebirds, and finches. Keeping something more unusual? Text us and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
Can your team handle my pet's medication schedule?
Bring us the vet's instructions and consider it covered. Oral medications, topical treatments, and subcutaneous injections are all standard scope for every caretaker on our team — a bar set by our founder, who previously administered subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccines as a House Rabbit Society volunteer. Whether your little one lives up in the hills or a block off Laurel Street, walk us through the protocol at the meet-and-greet and we will match it to the minute. New to small-pet care? Our guinea pig care guide is a good primer.
Can I board my exotic pet with you instead of in-home sitting?
Boarding is available at $75 per night, and every stay is hosted personally by a member of our team in their own San Francisco home. Spots are limited, so families here in the City of Good Living should reserve ahead of busy travel weeks — and bring the usual enclosure and supplies so everything feels familiar. Details are on the boarding page.
How much does a San Carlos exotic pet sitter cost?
San Carlos visits follow our standard Peninsula rates: $85 for a 30-minute visit, $115 for a 60-minute visit, and $140–$190 per day for twice-daily care, depending on visit length and the number of pets. A travel surcharge of $15–$25/visit applies, depending on distance. Wherever you are between the hills and the Caltrain line, text us your address and dates and we will confirm your exact rate.
Ready to line up care 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, browse the full FAQ page, or look through our San Mateo Peninsula exotic veterinarians directory if you are still getting set up with a local vet. New guinea pig parents in San Carlos — our guinea pig care guide is a good starting point.