Health dates that should never rely on memory
For rabbits, the anchor job is the annual vaccination booster against myxomatosis and both strains of rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease, where your vet advises it. Book the next one before you leave the practice and put the date in the diary the same day, because a lapsed booster in peak midge and fly season is a real risk, not a paperwork nicety. Guinea pigs do not have a routine vaccination schedule, so their anchor is different: a yearly vet health check covering teeth, weight, skin, and feet, ideally at the same time of year so weights and findings can be compared like for like.
Add a monthly weight entry for both species as a standing mini-job. A rabbit or guinea pig quietly losing weight over several months is often the first visible sign of dental or digestive trouble, and a simple dated list of weights turns a vague worry into evidence your vet can use. Weigh on the same kitchen scales, at the same time of day, and write the figure down rather than trusting that you will remember the trend.
Identity, insurance, and contact checks
Once a year, open your microchip registry record — rabbits are commonly chipped, guinea pigs sometimes — and confirm the address, phone, and emergency contact are still the ones you would want used at midnight on a stressful night. Do the same sweep across any insurance policy: check the pet's age and details are right, note the renewal date and excess, and confirm your current vet practice is the one named. If you have no insurance, the diary job is still worth doing as a savings review — compare what a year of routine plus one emergency visit would cost against what you have set aside.
In the same sitting, update your emergency sheet: who feeds the animals if you are in hospital, where the carrier lives, and which vet to call out of hours. Contact details for sitters and family helpers drift over a year, and an annual check catches the changed mobile number before it matters.
Paperwork and housing jobs by season
Give the paperwork folder one proper sort each year. File the year's vaccination cards, invoices, and vet notes in date order, photograph or scan the key pages as a backup, and throw out superseded care sheets so a sitter never finds two conflicting versions. Check that adoption or purchase paperwork, chip numbers, and insurance documents are all still in the folder you think they are in.
Seasonal jobs follow naturally. Before winter, diary a housing check: insulation, waterproofing, spare bedding stock, and whether outdoor hutches need moving to a sheltered spot. Before summer, check flystrike prevention plans for rabbits, shade, and ventilation. Twice a year, audit supplies with expiry or wear in mind — opened food, hay storage, water bottles, and first-aid basics — and replace anything stale before you actually need it.
Making the diary system stick
Twelve months of small jobs fail when they all land in one overwhelming weekend, so spread them: boosters and vet checks on their real due dates, chip and insurance checks together in one short sitting, the paperwork sort on a quiet evening, housing checks at the season changes. Set the reminder a fortnight ahead for anything that needs booking, and a day ahead for anything you do at home.
The point of the diary is that nothing depends on you remembering at the right moment. KinsLe's Pet Passport holds your rabbit's or guinea pig's records together in one portable packet — vaccination history, vet visits, and key details — so when each diary date arrives, the paperwork that job needs is already gathered and ready.