Sunset District Exotic Pet Sitter
The Sunset is the kind of neighborhood that runs on its own quiet weather. San Francisco’s largest district, and reliably one of its foggiest, it stretches in long, orderly rows from the green edge of Golden Gate Park down toward the gray Pacific at Ocean Beach. The people who live here have built whole lives around that rhythm — researchers and clinicians near the UCSF Parnassus campus, families in the classic tunnel-entrance houses, students and longtime residents who do their errands along Irving, Noriega, and Taraval. And when one of those households leaves town, the question that surfaces the night before a trip is always the same: who is going to take care of the exotics? Conventional boarding kennels are built for dogs and cats, and most pet sitters have never weighed a guinea pig on a gram scale. That is the gap our team fills.
Here is what makes the Sunset different from every other neighborhood we serve: House of Guineas Pet Care is based right here in the Inner Sunset. This is our home turf. We are already in the neighborhood — a few blocks from the same Irving Street shops and the same N-Judah stop you use — rather than driving in from across town or down the Peninsula. That means the most local, most responsive coverage we offer is the coverage closest to home, for our own neighbors and their rabbits, reptiles, and birds.
Why Sunset District Exotic Pet Parents Choose Our Team
The Sunset is full of people who think carefully and plan ahead — engineers, clinicians, educators, and the students and faculty connected to UCSF just up the hill at Parnassus. What exotic pet parents here tell us they need is a sitter who brings the same rigor to animal care that they bring to their own work. Here is what sets us apart:
- Veterinary background. Ours is a veterinary-informed team, with backgrounds spanning wildlife rehabilitation to exotic veterinary hospital work. Our founder previously 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 kind of focus is genuinely hard to find anywhere in the city.
- 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 recognize the early signs of a crop issue in a parrot. We also know the local exotic vet landscape, so if something seems off while you are in another time zone, we know where to turn — see our San Francisco Bay Area exotic veterinarians directory.
- We are right here. Because we are based in the Inner Sunset, we are exceptionally close by. Early-morning visits before a commute or a flight, evening visits after a long day, mid-day medication timing — we build the schedule around your itinerary, and being neighbors makes that easy.
Exotic Species We Care For in the Sunset
- Small mammals — rabbits (including bonded pairs and trios), guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters, rats
- 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 the Sunset
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 Sunset pet parents, this is about as easy as it gets, since we are right in the neighborhood and can often find a window that fits around a foggy morning or an after-work evening without anyone driving far.
Once you book, we schedule visits around your travel itinerary. Most exotic pets do well with twice-daily visits — morning and evening — so the rabbits get a fresh salad before the day starts and the reptile enclosure gets a proper lights-out check 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.
Sunset Areas We Serve
The Sunset’s grid is part of the charm and part of the logistics — it runs all the way from the northern blocks bordering Golden Gate Park down to the foggy stretches near Ocean Beach and the Great Highway. We cover the full district. In the Inner Sunset, that means the streets clustered around the Irving Street shops, the homes near the UCSF Parnassus campus, and the blocks closest to Golden Gate Park, all served by the N-Judah line. In the Outer Sunset, we reach the long avenues out toward the beach, the neighborhoods along the Noriega and Taraval corridors, and the rows of tunnel-entrance houses served by the L-Taraval. Whether you are a block from the park or a few sandy blocks from the ocean, we can reach you — usually quickly.
Pricing for Sunset District 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
Because the Sunset is within San Francisco — and is in fact where House of Guineas is based — there is no Peninsula travel surcharge here. Pricing stays simple and in-city, and we are exceptionally close by. Text us your address and dates and we will confirm your rate. You can read more about what is included on our in-home exotic pet care page.
Home most nights, but short on spare hours? Since our team is based right here in the Sunset, plenty of fog-belt pet parents keep a standing weekly or every-other-week routine care visit on the books. Their caretaker handles the enclosure deep-clean, weigh-ins, and a gentle wellness check, so cozy foggy evenings stay reserved for lap time and veggie snacks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are you really based in the Sunset District?
Yes. House of Guineas Pet Care is based in San Francisco's Inner Sunset, so the Sunset is our home neighborhood and the most local coverage we offer. We are already here — near the same Irving Street shops, Golden Gate Park, and N-Judah stop you use — which makes us exceptionally close by and quick to reach you across both the Inner and Outer Sunset.
Which species do you take care of in the Sunset?
Exotics and cats — that is the whole practice. For our Sunset neighbors, the list runs from small mammals (guinea pigs, rabbits including bonded pairs, chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters, rats) to reptiles (bearded dragons, leopard and crested geckos, turtles, tortoises) to birds (cockatiels, conures, budgies, lovebirds, finches, parrots). The fog outside never troubles a well-kept enclosure inside — we make sure of it. Just adopted a guinea pig? Our guinea pig care guide is the place to start.
Do your caretakers handle medications and injections?
They do — consider it covered. Oral syringe meds, topical treatments, and subcutaneous injections are all standard scope for our caretakers, along with nebulizer treatments. Being based right here in the Inner Sunset means tight medication windows are easy to hit, even on a gray Judah-Street morning. For background, our founder previously administered subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccines while volunteering with the House Rabbit Society, and every caretaker trains to that clinical bar.
Can I board my exotic pet instead of booking in-home visits in the Sunset?
Yes — and for Sunset families, drop-off could hardly be closer, since boarding is hosted personally by members of our team in their San Francisco homes. It runs $75 per night with limited spots, and your pet's usual enclosure and supplies come along to keep things familiar. See the boarding page for details.
How much does a Sunset District exotic pet sitter cost?
Because the Sunset is our home neighborhood, this is the easiest quote we give: 30-minute visits from $85, 60-minute visits from $115, and twice-daily care between $140 and $190 per day depending on visit length and how many pets we are caring for. There is no Peninsula travel surcharge here — we are already in the neighborhood, fog and all. Text your address and dates to 415-484-6493 and we will confirm your 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, our boarding option hosted personally by members of our team in their San Francisco homes, or browse the full FAQ page. For more on how we cover the whole city, see our San Francisco exotic pet sitter hub. Still getting set up with a vet? Our San Francisco Bay Area exotic veterinarians directory is a good place to start, and new guinea pig parents in the Sunset will want our guinea pig care guide.