Routine & Recurring Care
Most pet-sitting services are built around one moment: you leave town, and someone covers you until you’re back. That’s a real need, and we cover it. But it isn’t the need most exotic-pet owners in San Francisco actually live with day to day. The everyday reality is quieter and more constant — a guinea pig cage that needs a proper deep-clean every week, a rabbit’s litter and hay stations that never quite stay on top of themselves, a bearded dragon whose enclosure could use a knowledgeable set of eyes on its temperatures and UVB, a bird whose chop and cage upkeep is a daily rhythm. You love your pet. You also work long hours, commute, travel for work, and have a life. Routine care is for exactly that gap — steady, recurring, in-home upkeep so your pet stays happy and healthy, and the time you do have with them is the fun kind, not the chore kind.
House of Guineas is based in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset, and our team of exotic pet specialists comes to your home on a standing schedule you set — weekly, biweekly, or a custom cadence — so nothing about your pet’s care ever slips.
Who Routine Care Is For
- Busy professionals who work long days and want their small mammal’s cage genuinely clean and their pet weighed and checked, without spending their one free evening on it.
- Households with demanding enclosures — reptiles with calibrated heat and UVB, birds with daily chop, multi-pig herds — where staying ahead of the upkeep is a job in itself.
- Owners who travel often for work and would rather keep one trusted, familiar sitter on a recurring basis than scramble for someone new before every trip.
- New exotic owners who want a knowledgeable professional checking in regularly while they learn — someone who’ll flag a problem early instead of at the next vet visit.
- Anyone who simply wants to protect the fun part. Let us handle the maintenance so your time at home is cuddles, floor time, and popcorning — not scrubbing.
What a Routine Visit Includes
Every recurring visit is tailored to your pet, but a standing visit typically covers:
- Full enclosure upkeep — cage or habitat deep-clean, litter and bedding changes, spot-cleaning, and a fresh setup (fleece liners swapped, substrate refreshed).
- Fresh food & water — hay stations restocked, chop or greens prepped, pellets measured, water bottles and bowls cleaned and refilled.
- Health monitoring with clinical rigor — gram-scale weigh-ins for small mammals to catch weight loss early, appetite and output checks, and a look for the subtle early signs of trouble (GI stasis, respiratory issues, overgrown nails or teeth, bumblefoot, mites).
- Habitat verification for reptiles & birds — confirming temperature gradients, that UVB is functioning, and that humidity is in range.
- Enrichment & handling — time with your pet, plus nail checks and gentle grooming as needed.
- A written update after every visit — including photos, so you always know how your companion is doing.
Because our founder, Alexandria, is an exotic veterinary assistant — formerly at Bay Area Bird & Exotics Hospital, and a House Rabbit Society volunteer who administered subcutaneous RHDV2 vaccines — and every specialist is trained under that same clinical lens, a routine visit isn’t just tidying. It’s a recurring wellness check by someone who knows what healthy looks like for your species.
New to the idea of a sitter when you’re not even traveling? Read why busy pet parents book routine care.
Flat Monthly Plans
Routine clients are the heart of what we do. Instead of paying visit-by-visit, standing clients move to a flat monthly plan — one predictable price, billed monthly, that covers a standing schedule of 2 or 3 visits a week.
Routine Care Plans — standing 30-minute visits, within San Francisco:
- 2 visits / week — $158/week ($680/month)
- 3 visits / week — $223/week ($960/month)
Want longer, 60-minute visits? Add $30 per visit. Prefer biweekly or a custom cadence? We'll build a plan to match.
Monthly pricing is based on an average month (about 4.3 weeks) and stays flat even in months with an extra visit.
Travel for Peninsula & farther clients
If you’re outside our immediate Inner Sunset base, a per-visit travel amount is added based on distance:
| Where you are | Travel per visit |
|---|---|
| San Francisco, within ~3 mi of Inner Sunset | Included |
| San Francisco, 3–6 mi out | from $15/visit |
| Outer SF / Daly City / 6+ mi | from $25/visit |
| Peninsula (Burlingame → San Mateo → Redwood City) | from $25/visit |
A few examples (30-minute visits, all-in):
- Inner Sunset, 3×/week: $223/week · $960/month
- San Mateo, 2×/week: from ~$208/week · ~$895/month
- San Mateo, 3×/week: from ~$298/week · ~$1,280/month
Prefer to keep things per-visit instead? Routine visits can also be billed individually at our standard in-home rates (30-minute visits from $85, 60-minute from $115, plus the standard distance surcharge).
Serving San Francisco Through San Mateo
We provide recurring in-home care across all of San Francisco — no travel charge within the city center — and throughout the Peninsula down to San Mateo, Foster City, and Redwood City. Peninsula travel is a flat per-visit amount by distance (see the table above), folded into your weekly and monthly total. Ask us about a Peninsula routine plan.
Explore your area: San Francisco · Burlingame · San Mateo · Millbrae · Foster City · Redwood City.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is routine care different from vacation pet sitting?
Vacation sitting covers your pet for a defined trip and ends when you return. Routine care is an ongoing, standing arrangement — the same specialist visiting on a set weekly or biweekly schedule to handle regular upkeep like cage deep-cleans, weigh-ins, and health checks. It's for pet parents who are home but busy, not just those who are away.
Can I get the same sitter every visit?
Yes — consistency is the point of routine care. We match you with a specialist who becomes familiar with your pet, your home, and your routine, so every visit builds on the last. That familiarity is exactly what makes recurring care valuable, both for your pet's comfort and for catching subtle changes early.
How often can you come?
Our standing plans are built around 2 or 3 visits a week, which is the sweet spot for keeping most exotic pets' upkeep, feeding, and health monitoring on track. Small mammals and birds especially benefit from that rhythm. We also do biweekly and fully custom schedules — we'll recommend the right cadence for your pet at your meet-and-greet.
Do routine clients get priority for travel and holiday care?
Yes. Because we already know your pet and your home, standing routine clients are the easiest for us to cover when you travel — and you're first in line when demand is high, including holidays and peak season when availability is tightest.
What does a routine care plan cost?
Routine care is a flat monthly plan built around a standing schedule of 2–3 visits a week. Within San Francisco, 30-minute visits are $158/week ($680/month) for 2×/week or $223/week ($960/month) for 3×/week; 60-minute visits add $30/visit. Outside our Inner Sunset base a per-visit travel amount applies (from $15–$25/visit by distance), so a San Mateo plan runs from about $208/week (~$895/month) at 2×/week. Text us at 415-484-6493 or request a plan online for a quote tailored to your pet, cadence, and location.
Ready to hand off the upkeep and keep the fun? Request a routine care plan or call or text us at 415-484-6493. New to us? Learn more about our in-home exotic pet care, read about Alexandria’s veterinary background, or browse the full FAQ page.