PROVIDENCE — Hamster love got out of control for a family in Methuen, Mass., and now Rhode Islanders can have a crack at a cute little hamster.

What started with two hamsters in the same cage turned to 35 when the babies had babies and those babies had more.

Before the furry creatures could multiply any further, the family turned over the teddy-bear hamsters to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at Nevins Farm in Methuen last week. The MSPCA put some of the hamsters up for adoption and gave some to the Nantucket Animal Care and Adoption Center, the Providence Animal Rescue League and other animal caretakers.

The director of animal welfare at the Providence Rescue League, Carmine DiCenzo, who once worked with MSPCA, worked out the transfer of three of the hamsters to Rhode Island.

DiCenzo said anyone interested in adopting the critters can go to the rescue league to meet them and get an education on hamsters. Proper care is required because they multiply well, faster than rabbits, he said. A female can have babies at six weeks of age. Gestation lasts 16 days and hamsters can have a dozen or more babies each time, he said.

The rescue league asks for a $10 donation to adopt the creatures. For more information, check the rescue league’s Web site at www.parl.org.

tpina@projo.com