How To Become A Small Animal Caretaker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a small animal caretaker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Chase Runyan

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a small animal caretaker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.27 an hour? That's $29,688 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 28% and produce 101,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What's a day at work look like for a small animal caretaker?

Dr. Chase Runyan

Associate Professor, Department Chair, Director of MIR/Research Scientist, Angelo State University

Because agriculture industries are so diverse in their nature, it is nearly impossible to gauge what a work day might look like.

ScoreSmall Animal CaretakerUS Average

Salary

2.3

Avg. Salary $29,688

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 2.79%

Black or African American 4.81%

Hispanic or Latino 16.87%

Unknown 6.94%

White 68.09%

Gender

female 69.62%

male 30.38%

Age - 29

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 29

Stress level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a small animal caretaker

Explore small animal caretaker education requirements

Most common small animal caretaker degrees

Bachelor's

39.5 %

Associate

23.3 %

High School Diploma

23.3 %

Start to develop specific small animal caretaker skills

Skills	Percentages
PET	54.77%
Animal Handling	34.02%
Cage Cards	4.64%
Animal Species	3.70%
Exotic Animals	2.86%

Complete relevant small animal caretaker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New small animal caretakers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a small animal caretaker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real small animal caretaker resumes.

Research small animal caretaker duties and responsibilities

Sanitize facility equipment using tunnel and rack washers, acidify watering systems, and autoclaves for sterilization.
Maintain inventory of chemicals require for cleaning and testing of milking equipment.

Prepare your small animal caretaker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your small animal caretaker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a small animal caretaker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable small animal caretaker resume templates

Build a professional small animal caretaker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your small animal caretaker resume.