Oil Temp gauge

I have a 2000 Subaru Sambar TT1 and have been using it as a daily commute to the office ( a little under 8 mi or just under 13km). I have been using the truck for over 5 months and no issues with running except it burns a little bit of oil which I always check the oil levels to keep them at level. Now this week I was driving and the oil temp gauge has shot up to hot and so I panicked and pulled over to a parking lot and shut it off. After a waiting for it to cool I started it up and drove home with heater blowing just in case to get rid of the hot air. Fast forward to today I was driving to work and the gauge did the same thing however I was stopping at a red light and then the temp dropped to normal. I continued on my commute and it kept shooting up and then dropping to normal. Is it an issue with the gauge itself? Thank you in advance and am open to all advices.