Exotic Pet Care FAQs

House of Guineas Pet Care offers specialized care for exotic animals. House of Guineas Founder and exotic pet enthusiast, Alexandria, brings a background working out of an exotic veterinary hospital and a current role as a volunteer medical assistant at the House Rabbit Society in Richmond, California — and our growing team of exotic pet specialists is trained to provide the best care for your pets.

We care for a wide range of exotic pets including rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters and other small mammals; reptiles such as bearded dragons, geckos, snakes, turtles and tortoises; and birds such as parrots, cockatiels, conures and budgies. An expansive list of pets we care for can be found on the about page.

House of Guineas in-home care now covers San Francisco and the Peninsula, with our team of exotic pet specialists traveling out to serve clients across San Mateo County. Our primary service area is Inner Sunset, San Francisco. San Mateo County clients are served via our Peninsula tier (see below). For clients outside the primary travel range, additional travel rates apply — rates depend on our exotic pet specialists' availability and your location. We will do our best to meet you and your pets' needs, wherever they are. Here's a breakdown of the service tiers:

• Primary Service Area (0–3 miles from Inner Sunset, San Francisco): No travel surcharge applies. Our base rates cover all visits within this area.
• Secondary Service Area (3–6 miles from Inner Sunset, San Francisco): Travel surcharge starting from $15/visit, depending on our specialists' availability.
• Tertiary Service Area (6+ miles from Inner Sunset, San Francisco): Travel surcharge starting from $25/visit, depending on our specialists' availability.
• Peninsula Service (San Mateo County): Our team serves Burlingame, San Mateo, Millbrae, Hillsborough, Foster City, Redwood City, and surrounding areas — rates depend on location and specialist availability. Contact us for a custom quote!

Are you farther away? Text or call us and let's figure out if we're a good fit for each other!

Note: In-home visits are handled by our exotic pet specialists who travel to you. Boarding is hosted at our San Francisco location by our founder — clients are welcome to drop off pets from anywhere in the Bay Area.

Changing your pet's environment, especially if they are a prey animal, can cause discomfort and stress. With that said, I understand that there are cases where their home may not be the best place to stay while you are away.

House of Guineas offers boarding for most reptiles, birds, amphibians and small mammals — including rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters, bearded dragons, geckos, snakes, turtles, tortoises, parrots, cockatiels, conures and budgies. Boarding is hosted by House of Guineas founder, Alexandria, personally at her San Francisco home, and clients from across the Bay Area and Peninsula are welcome to drop off their pets. To ensure the safety and well-being of the exotic animals in the home, House of Guineas does not offer boarding for dogs and cats.

• Exotic pet boarding is $75 per night. I will discuss a plan with you to make sure your pet(s) feel as safe and comfortable as possible. They will have their own room, with soothing music played as they become acclimated during their stay.
• Please bring any medication (if needed), enclosures, bedding, food and supplies your pet needs to feel at home when you drop them off. Additional charges will apply if House of Guineas picks-up and drops-off your pet(s), including any additional supplies needed during their stay.
• A meet and greet is required for first-time clients and your pet must be up-to-date with all of their vaccinations by the first visit. As with in-home pet sitting, boarding can book quickly. Please contact me as soon as possible to make sure your pet(s) have the care they need!

While House of Guineas does not offer overnight pet sitting, we will be more than happy to discuss ways to meet you and your pet's needs, such as extended visits. Just give us a call/text and we can figure out a plan.

We understand the stress of having someone access your home. We assure you that we value you and your pet's well-beings, and will make sure that the fort is locked down and secured during each visit. Our team will check that the doors and windows are locked, pet is secured (if they're in an enclosure), and no unnecessary lights are on.

Rest assured, your pet's safety and well-being is our top priority. Our founder and specialists are equipped with expertise ranging from decades of clinical experience and certifications, including Pet CPR + CPCR and First Aid. House of Guineas is bonded and insured for your complete peace of mind. As our founder is a member of Pet Sitters International, the world's largest pet sitting association, we adhere to the highest industry standards. Our insurance protects you from unexpected incidents, while our bond provides financial protection against theft or property damage.

A meet and greet is a visit to you and your companion's home; this is the time for us to get to know you, your pet(s) and answer any questions you have! After covering care for your pets, this would be the time to hand-off any physical keys to access your home. Your keys will be stored in a secure, undisclosed location.

Additionally, if you'd like to move forward with care from House of Guineas, the booking deposit and signed pet care and services form is due at the end of the Meet and Greet as well.

If a digital code/keyless entry method is used and there is a situation where our team is unable to access your home, House of Guineas is not responsible for any damages to your home and your pet(s). We recommend a local, emergency contact to have at least one spare key in the event of an emergency.

Don't worry! We can schedule a time for a key pickup before the first visit. A key pickup and drop-off will be $70 each. House of Guineas can also store your keys, and your keys will be stored in a secure, undisclosed location.

We've found that clients often have lockboxes, emergency contact key drop-offs and other methods to securely store their keys when they are away.

At the end of our meet and greet, a booking deposit is due. The booking deposit will include half of the total care. After the final visit, the remaining half of the care is due, along with any additional charges if applicable.

We accept Zelle, Venmo, checks and cash. For memo areas, please make them payable to: House of Guineas LLC.

Don't you worry - you will receive pictures of your pet's adventures while you're away! Our team also includes high level updates of their health, any changes in their behaviors/feeding levels and any relevant updates with the home (i.e. received mail/packages).

For our visits, we require note of at least one veterinary hospital. Per our discussion, we will communicate with you first for any minor situations, and will take immediate action in emergencies to admit your pet.

Our priority is making sure that your pet receives the care they need, so additional charges are due, latest, by the last service.

No problem, these things happen. Please be aware that any sits scheduled within 7 days of their first visit will include a non-refundable, $100 surcharge; $150 if care is over any holidays.

Because last-minute, emergency care can conflict with routine clients, please contact us as soon as possible to make sure your pet(s) has the care they need.

Because of higher volume of care during peak periods such as holidays and special occasions, pet care over a holiday will be 1.5x the regular rate. Please be aware that any sits scheduled within 7 days of the needed care over a holiday, a non-refundable, $150 holiday surcharge is due, in addition to applicable service fees.

Care over the holidays are often booked months in advance, so please contact us as soon as possible to make sure your pet have the care they need.

Yes! Guinea pig boarding is $75/night and includes unlimited fresh hay, species-appropriate pellets and vegetables, daily enclosure cleaning, and health monitoring. As a guinea pig owner myself and a trained exotic veterinary assistant, I watch for early signs of GI stasis, respiratory distress, bumblefoot, and dental issues. Your guinea pig gets their own room with soothing music. Please bring their enclosure, bedding (or try our Clinical Series fleece liners), food, and supplies.

Congratulations! Guinea pigs are wonderful companions. We recommend starting with our Complete Guinea Pig Care Guide which covers housing, diet, health, and bedding. For bedding specifically, check out our Clinical Series fleece cage liners — the healthiest, most cost-effective bedding option. You can also browse our Small Pet Resources page for recommended cages, hay, and supplies. And if you ever need a guinea pig sitter in San Francisco or the Peninsula, that's what we do best!

Yes — birds are a core part of our service, not a stretch. Alexandria spent years at Bay Area Bird and Exotics Hospital, and our team is trained to handle cockatiels, parakeets, conures, parrotlets, lovebirds, finches, and most companion parrots. We do daily fresh chop preparation, pellet measurement, full cage cleaning, and out-of-cage time for birds with established free-flight routines. See our bird care guide and bird sitter page for more.

Yes, with a specific framing: we accept cats in households where we already provide exotic pet care. We are not a cat-only sitter — our specialty is exotics — but if you have a guinea pig and a cat, or a rabbit and a cat, the cat is part of the household and we look after them too. See our cat and exotic pet sitting in San Francisco page for details.