Planning a vacation can be stressful, especially when it comes to arranging care for your exotic pets. Kennels, boarding and pet sitters are easy to come by when your pet is a common dog or cat. When your pet is a rat, goat, reptile or other exotic pet the task of finding care often becomes a chore.

Pet sitting is a booming business and sitters are easy to find in most communities. Browse the yellow pages and look online. There are many websites that match pet sitters to pet owners. Look for advertisements at pet stores, your vet's office, community bulletin boards and community newspapers and newsletters.

One of the simplest ways to find a pet sitter is to contact a few and ask if they will care for exotic animals. Ensure they know exactly what they will be facing when they walk in your home and are instructed in proper care. Unless you have an animal that requires very specialized care daily a sitter who mostly deals with mammals will probably suffice.

Another source of possible leads is your vetrinarian. Your exotic pet vet has a connection in the local pet community and should be able to provide you with several names.

Call local animal shelters and rescues, especially those that rescue exotic pets, and ask if the facility will board an animal or if they can provide a recommendation of a pet sitter.

If you purchased your animal from a breeder consider calling and asking if they offer boarding services. When dropping your animal off ensure they are placed well away from the animals for sale.

If your animal is larger a local farm, ranch or horse boarding facility may provide special accomodations for certain exotic pets. A local farmer may also be willing to come to your house to provide care for your animals, especially if they are animals he or she is familiar with.

Before you hire a pet sitter or board your animal you must take some precautions. If the pet sitter has never cared for an animal like yours have them come over a few days in advance so you can instruct them in their proper care.

Perform all complicated care before you leave and plan to return before it's needed again, unless your pet sitter is experienced. All food items should be stored within easy reach of the sitter but not where the animal can access them.

If your pet is used to roaming the house you might want to isolate them to a crate or room with a hard floor to minimize carpet staining. Pets used to free access to the house and outdoors typically have many bathroom accidents when left alone for extended periods of time. Instruct the pet sitter in how to clean the messes and properly dispose of the waste.

Provide your animal with enrichment activities to keep them busy during your absence.

Your pet's vet records should be up-to-date and made available if they are not asked for in advance.

When boarding your animal do something to make your animal instantly recognizeable, such as using nail polish or liquid paper to mark a tortoise shell or provide your animal with a distinctive haircut or collar. If your animal has light fur consider using a permanent marker to make a distinctive pattern on their coat, it will eventually grow out or wear off. If your animal tends to look like others of it's type you want to make sure you get the right animal back!