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 for San Francisco pet parents the answer is in-home visits from our team of exotic pet caretakers — your little ones stay in the home they know, with no travel surcharge anywhere in the city. Every visit is built around clinical experience, not guesswork.
Why San Francisco Exotic Pet Parents Choose Us
- Veterinary background. Ours is a veterinary-informed team of exotic pet professionals. 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, 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.
- Care that comes to you. Your pets stay in their own environment — the single best thing for a prey animal or a reptile with a calibrated habitat — and our caretakers come to them, anywhere in the city. (We do host a small amount of boarding, but those spots are reserved for families outside San Francisco.)
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, 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. And 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 $95
- In-home, 60-minute visits start at $125
- Twice-daily care runs $155–$215/day depending on visit length and number of pets
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 — can 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 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 $95 for a 30-minute visit and $125 for a 60-minute visit; twice-daily care runs $155–$215 per day depending on visit length and the number of pets. San Francisco is our primary service area, so no travel surcharge applies.
Should I choose in-home visits or boarding?
For San Francisco families, in-home visits — your pets do best in their own environment, especially prey animals and reptiles with calibrated habitats, and our caretakers cover the whole city with no travel surcharge. We do host a small amount of boarding, but because space is so limited we reserve those spots for pet parents outside San Francisco, where in-home visits mean travel surcharges and longer drives. In-home visits include species-specific feeding, medication if needed, and daily photo updates — see the in-home care page 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, 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.