Long Island rescuers taking action to save abandoned guinea pigs

Last week, nine guinea pigs were found dumped in a wooded area behind an East Setauket shopping mall. On a hot day in July, two guinea pigs were spotted wandering around Cantiague Park in Hicksville before a good Samaritan brought them to safety. A month later, someone dropped a cage out of a car in Huntington, leaving 11 guinea pigs to fend for themselves. And the list goes on.

Exhausted and frustrated rescuers are seeing more and more guinea pigs abandoned in Long Island parks and wooded areas, where they have little chance of surviving. Even if they avoid being killed by predators, the small animals are not equipped to deal with cold and hot weather.

“They were very fast and very scared, and I knew it was important to get them right away because these animals had no protection,” said Frankie Floridia, president of Strong Island Animal Rescue, who helped mobilize about 20 volunteers to catch the abandoned guinea pigs in East Setauket. With the help of pens, nets, thermal cameras and headlamps, they successfully corralled the nine guinea pigs as the sun set Tuesday evening.

Mistakenly viewed by many as the perfect low-maintenance pet, guinea pig ownership increased during the COVID-19 pandemic on Long Island, in New York City and nationwide, according to numerous rescue groups. But people eventually started surrendering their guinea pigs to animal shelters in droves, eventually leading New York City to ban the sale of them in pet stores.

“People keep dumping them because they don’t realize how much work they are or how quickly they can multiply,” said Liz Richter, whose Long Island-based Porcellus Place Guinea Pig Rescue has taken in more than 780 unwanted, homeless and abandoned guinea pigs in just the last two years. The ones that were sick or terminally ill stayed with her. She found homes for 719 of the healthy ones.

“Pet stores do not properly educate people who buy them on how much space they require or even the proper dietary needs,” said Richter, a veterinary nurse and the sole rehabilitator at the rescue, volunteering her time with the help of donations.

"Pet stores sell cages that are way too small and catchy brightly colored treats and foods that don’t meet" a guinea pig's nutritional needs, Richter said Sunday.

She is currently caring for the nine guinea pigs from East Setauket. Three of the females are pregnant, underscoring the need to keep males and females separate.

Guinea pigs are generally friendly and easy to handle, said Dr. Carly Fox, senior veterinarian at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in Manhattan. Their life span is about 5 to 8 years. They need a large enclosure with water and a diet that includes timothy hay, pellets and leafy greens.

"Ideally, you should have at least two pigs of the same sex, since they thrive in group settings," she said. "You do not want two guinea pigs of opposite sex — to avoid unwanted pregnancy, unless they are neutered.”

Fox said guinea pigs need routine veterinary care because "they are prone to certain health conditions … dental disease, urinary stones, gastrointestinal stasis, vitamin C deficiency, and upper respiratory disease.”

Advocates have complained that store workers often don’t know the sex of the guinea pigs and mistakenly sell males and females together, leading to an unexpected and usually unwanted litter.

Richter said officials on Long Island should take a look at the New York City ban on selling guinea pigs and work on similar legislation for Nassau and Suffolk counties.

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.