Why not just DM a keeper?

Plenty of people do, and most of the time it is fine. These are the four things you get here that a direct message cannot give you.

• An agreed care record

  Temperatures, humidity, feeding schedule and medical history go with the request, and the host answers them. It is snapshotted, so editing your animal's profile later can't rewrite what they agreed to.

• Photo intake and return

  Both of you photograph the animal and the enclosure at drop-off and again at pick-up, with weights if you have scales. Condition on arrival versus condition on return is what every dispute turns on.

• Money held until 2 days after the stay

  You pay us, not the host. We hold it and pass it on afterwards, which is the only reason a refund is possible at all — cash in someone's hand is gone.

• A referee if something goes wrong

  Report an issue and a person reads the care record and the handoff photos, and replies. Mediation is non-binding and there is no insurance behind it — but there is somebody to write to.