Heart Murmurs
A heart murmur is where a valve of the heart, or the heart muscle itself, is weak and allows the blood to flow backward as well as forward, or does not pump properly. One of the reasons can be weak valves, or valves that are narrowed.

• In chinchillas we have found up to a 30% incidence of heart murmurs in some areas. 
• Have your chinchilla checked for murmurs when you buy it, or if it seems to be getting tired or weak for no reason.

Chinchillas have died of enlarged hearts which caused heart failure [the pump got tired] a phenomenon called "Saddle Thrombus". A Saddle Thrombus is a large blood-clot which is formed when blood is not pumped out of the heart because the heart is failing. The blood pools and clots, and then suddenly the large clot is forced out and sticks where the large artery coming out of the heart divides down the legs. That causes what seems to be a stroke in the back —that is your animal suddenly is paralyzed from the "waist" down, and is in pain if moved. The animal usually dies within a matter of hours to days. It is best have them euthanized when this happens.

Heart mumurs are ranked on a scale from 1 to 6, with one being mild and six being the most severe. If your vet detects a heart murmur, it is important to know the ranking of the murmur.

If your vet finds a murmur on a young chinchilla, put the animal on a combination of Vitamin C, and Calcium with Calf Manna mixed into the pellets. We do not know if murmurs in the young is a cause of poor nutrition, but we believe that the above will not harm and in fact helps young animals. Since Vitamin C is an antioxidant we believe this will strengthen the heart, until further studies prove otherwise. If the murmur is in an adult, we recommend that you do not breed the animal, and monitor its condition closely. The animal may live for a very long time and have a very good life. To ensure this, reduce the sweets and fats [few nuts] given to the animal and provide a wheel for exercise. This course of action may just strengthen the heart. Keep in close contact with a good exotics vet, one who knows guinea pigs and rabbits if not chinchillas.