San Francisco Exotic Pet Sitter
Finding someone to care for an exotic pet in San Francisco is harder than it should be. Most sitters are set up for dogs and cats — not a bonded pair of rabbits, a bearded dragon on a specific UVB schedule, or a parrot who only settles when someone whistles back. House of Guineas Pet Care exists to close that gap. We are the only professional pet care company on this side of the Bay that exclusively caters to, serves, and cares for exotic pets — rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, reptiles, and birds.
We are based in the Inner Sunset, and we offer San Francisco pet parents two ways to get care — in-home visits from our team of exotic pet caretakers, or overnight boarding hosted personally by members of our team in their San Francisco homes. Both are built around clinical experience, not guesswork.
Why San Francisco Exotic Pet Parents Choose Us
- Veterinary background. Our veterinary-informed team brings 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, California, where she administered subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccines. Every member of our team is trained under that same clinical lens.
- Species specialization. Our focus on exotic pets and cats — rabbits, rodents, reptiles, and birds — is genuinely hard to find in San Francisco, where most pet sitters treat exotics as an afterthought.
- Clinical-grade care. We can syringe-feed a GI-stasis rabbit, weigh a guinea pig on a gram scale, check a reptile enclosure’s humidity and UVB, and recognize the early signs of a crop problem in a parrot. We also know the city’s exotic-vet landscape — see our San Francisco Bay Area exotic veterinarian directory — so if something goes sideways while you are away, we know exactly where to go.
- Two service options, one standard of care. Want your pet to stay in their own environment? Book in-home visits. Prefer hands-on overnight supervision? Board with a member of our team at their San Francisco home. Either way, your little ones get the same species-specific attention.
Exotic Species We Care For in San Francisco
- Small mammals — rabbits (including bonded pairs and trios), guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters, rats, degus, hedgehogs
- Reptiles — bearded dragons, leopard geckos, crested geckos, 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 Francisco
Everything starts 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. From there you choose the format that fits your trip:
- In-home visits. Our team comes to your San Francisco home, usually twice a day — a fresh salad and a habitat check in the morning, a proper lights-out check in the evening. You get photo and video updates from every visit, plus written notes on appetite, output, and behavior.
- Boarding in San Francisco. For pet parents who prefer overnight supervision, members of our team host a small number of exotic pets in their San Francisco homes. Your pet gets their own room with soothing music, species-specific feeding, and daily updates. Boarding books up quickly, so reach out as soon as you have dates.
Either way, if something seems off, we reach out before you are back.
San Francisco Neighborhoods We Serve
We provide in-home exotic pet care across the city, including:
- The Sunset District (Inner and Outer Sunset) and Parkside
- Cole Valley and Haight-Ashbury
- The Richmond District and the Forest Hill area
- Noe Valley, the Castro, and the Mission District
- Pacific Heights, the Marina District, and SOMA
Just outside the city, we also serve Daly City, San Bruno, and Pacifica to the south. To the north, we now cover Marin County — including San Rafael, Mill Valley, Larkspur and Corte Madera, and San Anselmo and the Ross Valley — through a caretaker based locally in Marin.
Looking for species-specific care? See our reptile sitter and guinea pig & small-mammal sitter pages.
If your neighborhood is not on the list, it is almost certainly still covered — text us your address and we will confirm.
Pricing for San Francisco Exotic Pet Care
- In-home, 30-minute visits start at $85
- In-home, 60-minute visits start at $115
- Twice-daily care runs $140–$190/day depending on visit length and number of pets
- Boarding in a team member’s San Francisco home is $75/night
San Francisco is our primary service area, so no travel surcharge applies — that is reserved for Peninsula visits. Text us your dates and we will confirm your rate.
In town most weeks, with a to-do list that keeps growing? Pet parents across San Francisco — from the Marina to Bernal Heights — keep us on a standing schedule of weekly or every-other-week routine care visits, where their caretaker takes care of the enclosure deep-clean, weigh-ins, and a gentle health check, so every evening at home belongs to your little ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an exotic pet sitter cost in San Francisco?
In-home exotic pet sitting in San Francisco starts at $85 for a 30-minute visit and $115 for a 60-minute visit; twice-daily care runs $140–$190 per day depending on visit length and the number of pets. Overnight boarding in a team member's San Francisco home is $75 per night. San Francisco is our primary service area, so no travel surcharge applies.
Should I choose in-home visits or boarding?
Choose in-home visits if your pet does best in their own environment and has a stable habitat (most reptiles, bonded rabbit pairs, large bird cages). Choose boarding if you want hands-on overnight supervision — boarding is hosted by members of our team in their San Francisco homes, where your pet gets their own room with soothing music. Both include species-specific feeding, medication if needed, and daily updates. See the in-home and boarding pages for details.
What exotic species do you care for?
Rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters, rats and other small mammals; reptiles including bearded dragons, geckos, snakes, turtles and tortoises; and birds from budgies and cockatiels to parrots. Rabbit parents can also see our dedicated San Francisco rabbit sitter page.
What if my exotic pet needs medication while I'm traveling?
Yes — medication care comes standard, citywide. Oral syringe meds, topical treatments, and subcutaneous injections are all standard scope for our caretakers, as are nebulizer treatments. That scope is grounded in real clinical history: our founder previously administered subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccines while volunteering with the House Rabbit Society. Bring the prescription details to your free meet-and-greet and your pet's caretaker will match the schedule exactly. For warning signs worth knowing, see our guide on signs your guinea pig needs a vet.
Do you cover my San Francisco neighborhood?
We cover all of San Francisco for in-home visits — from the Inner and Outer Sunset, Parkside and the Richmond District to Cole Valley, Noe Valley, the Castro, the Mission, Pacific Heights, the Marina and SOMA. If your neighborhood is not listed, it is almost certainly still covered; text us your address to confirm.
Heading out of town soon? Call or text us at 415-484-6493 and we will get a meet-and-greet on the calendar so your little ones are in good hands before you go. You can also read more about our in-home exotic pet care and San Francisco boarding, browse the full FAQ page, or look through our Bay Area exotic veterinarian directory. New to a species? Start with our guinea pig care guide, rabbit care guide, or reptile & amphibian care guide.