About

What XpertsPet is for

Pet owners usually need a number at a specific moment: how much to feed a new puppy, how big a tank a bearded dragon needs, whether the chocolate the dog just ate is dangerous. Most answers online are written for dogs and cats and stretched to fit everything else. We build each tool around the animal it is for, show how the answer is worked out, and link to the references behind it.

Everything is free. There is no account, and the details you type into a tool are calculated in your browser and never stored on our servers.

Where the numbers come from

Every figure is drawn from published reference material, not from forums or product marketing. We use:

• Veterinary reference works, mainly the Merck Veterinary Manual, for physiology, reproduction, toxicology and husbandry.
• Professional guidelines such as the WSAVA global nutrition and vaccination guidelines, and the National Research Council's nutrient requirement reports.
• University and extension services (Cornell, Tufts, Penn State, University of Florida IFAS, University of Kentucky) for species-specific care, feeding and housing.
• Welfare organizations and poison services, including the ASPCA, RSPCA, PDSA and Pet Poison Helpline, for minimum housing standards and toxic substances.
• Peer-reviewed research where a tool depends on a specific finding, such as the epigenetic study behind modern dog-age conversion.

Each tool page lists the sources it relies on, with links, directly under the explanation of how it works. Species data (lifespan, adult weight, maturity, gestation or incubation, temperature and humidity ranges) is kept per species, so a gecko's figures never borrow a dog's.

How we check the tools

Every calculator is run automatically with test inputs before each release, and a release is blocked if any tool fails to return a result. Every source link is re-checked automatically each week, and a reference that stops resolving is replaced rather than left in place. Reference tables on tool pages are computed by the same code as the calculator above them, so the two cannot drift apart.

Tools about treating an unwell animal (medication, symptoms and poisoning) carry a clear warning and are held back from search engines until a qualified veterinarian has reviewed them. Generic medication-dose calculators have been taken down entirely until each can carry a product-specific, vet-checked range. Their pages show the reviewer's name once that review is complete.

What the tools can and cannot do

The tools give well-sourced estimates for a typical healthy animal. They cannot examine your pet, and breed, body condition, age and illness can all move the right answer away from the average. Use the results to understand where you stand, to notice changes over time and to ask better questions at the vet. For anything urgent, call your vet or an animal poison line rather than relying on a calculator.

Corrections and updates

If a number looks wrong, please tell us, with the tool and the values you entered. We check every report against the source, fix the tool if it is wrong and update the page. Getting the calculations right matters more to us than adding more tools, and we would rather remove a tool than leave a doubtful one up.

Independence and advertising

XpertsPet is funded by advertising. Advertisers have no say over what the tools calculate or recommend, ads are always labeled, and no tool recommends a particular brand of food, medicine or product.