Burlingame Exotic Pet Sitter
If you live in Burlingame, odds are you are at SFO more often than you would like — and the one question that keeps coming up the night before a 6 a.m. flight is who is going to watch the chinchilla? Burlingame has the unusual distinction of being the closest Peninsula city to the airport, which means our clients here tend to be frequent flyers: biotech folks heading to Boston, product managers catching the red-eye to JFK, families flying out of SFO for a long weekend in Kauai. Exotic pets do not travel well, and most conventional boarding facilities are not equipped to handle a bonded pair of rabbits, a bearded dragon with a specific UVB schedule, or a cockatiel who only eats if someone whistles 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 specialists travels down the Peninsula to provide in-home care for Burlingame households. We handle everything from the Easton Addition to Mills Estate, and we are comfortable driving past the Hyatt Regency at 4:45 a.m. so you can make your boarding call on time.
Why Burlingame Exotic Pet Owners Choose Our Team
Burlingame is a town full of people who sweat the details — tech professionals, clinicians, educators, designers — and the feedback we hear is that they want a sitter who approaches exotic pet care with the same rigor they bring to their own work. Here is what sets us apart:
- Veterinary background. Our founder, Alexandria, is an exotic veterinary assistant who volunteers with the House Rabbit Society in Richmond, administering subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccines. Every specialist on our team is trained under that same clinical lens.
- Species specialization. We do not sit dogs and cats. This is all we do — 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 know the local exotic vet landscape — Peninsula Pet Hospital right in Burlingame, Adobe Animal Hospital in Los Altos, and All Pets Hospital in San Mateo — so if something goes sideways while you are in Zurich, we know exactly where to go.
- Flexible scheduling. Early-morning visits before an SFO departure, late-night visits after a redeye arrival, and mid-day medication timing — we build the schedule around your flight manifest, not the other way around.
Exotic Species We Care For in Burlingame
- Small mammals — rabbits (including bonded pairs and trios), guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters, rats, degus, hedgehogs
- 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 Burlingame
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 Burlingame clients, this usually happens on a weekend or after-work window that fits Caltrain schedules and the walk-home-from-Burlingame-Avenue-dinner rhythm most of our clients run on.
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 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 land.
Burlingame Neighborhoods We Serve
- Easton Addition
- Burlingame Park
- Burlingame Hills
- Lyon Hoag
- Burlingables (east of El Camino, near downtown)
- North Burlingame
- Mills Estate
We also cover the stretch between Washington Park and Ray Park, homes near Mercy High School and Burlingame High, and the Mills Park pocket near the San Mateo border. If you are closer to Coyote Point Recreation Area or the Burlingame Pier, we have got you too.
Pricing for Burlingame Visits
- 30-minute visits start at $85
- 60-minute visits start at $115
- Routine twice-daily care runs $140–$190/day depending on visit length and number of pets
Burlingame falls within our Peninsula service tier, which means a travel surcharge applies. The exact surcharge varies depending on our specialists’ availability and your specific location within Burlingame — a Lyon Hoag cottage two blocks off El Camino is different from a Burlingame Hills home tucked up near Hillsborough. Text us your address and dates and we will quote you honestly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you really travel to Burlingame for exotic pet care?
Yes. Our team of exotic pet specialists is based in San Francisco, and Burlingame is one of our regular Peninsula stops. We are on the 101 and 280 corridors several times a week covering clients from Millbrae down through Redwood City, and Burlingame — thanks to its proximity to SFO — is one of our highest-demand neighborhoods.
I'm flying out of SFO — can you cover same-day visits?
Often, yes — especially for existing clients. Burlingame is about a ten-minute drive from SFO, so our team can slot in an early-morning visit before a late-morning departure, or a same-evening visit after you land. For brand-new clients we still need a meet-and-greet in advance, so it is best to text us as soon as your trip is on the calendar.
What if my exotic pet needs medication while I'm traveling?
Medication administration is part of our standard service. Our specialists are trained in oral syringe feeding, subcutaneous fluids (with vet direction), topical applications, and nebulizer treatments. Our founder's clinical background — including subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccine administration at the House Rabbit Society — sets the bar. If your pet is on a complex protocol, share it during the meet-and-greet and we will match the schedule exactly. For signs that something is escalating, see our guide on signs your guinea pig needs a vet.
Can I board my exotic pet with you instead of in-home sitting?
Yes. Boarding is hosted separately at our founder's San Francisco home — it is not a Peninsula drop-off — but Burlingame clients are very welcome to make the short drive up. Boarding runs $75 per night, your pet gets their own room with soothing music, and we ask that you bring their usual enclosure and supplies. Details are on the boarding page.
How much does a Burlingame exotic pet sitter cost?
Our 30-minute visits start at $85 and 60-minute visits at $115, with routine twice-daily care ranging from $140–$190 per day depending on visit length and the number of pets. Burlingame sits in our Peninsula tier, so a travel surcharge applies — the exact amount varies depending on our specialists' availability and your specific location within Burlingame. Text us your address and dates for a firm quote.
Ready to lock in coverage 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 Bay Area exotic veterinarian directory if you are still getting set up with a local vet. New guinea pig parents in Burlingame — our guinea pig care guide is a good starting point.