Tail loss after cat grab

Question
Hi, Diane!  All the other herp people are on vacation so I will ask you my questions.  I don't know if you'll know but here it goes.  I have a jeweled curly tail lizard named Iggy.  I've had him for months, and he's doing great.  The problem I'm having (which I had with anoles in the past) is that when I open the lid, he tends to jump out.  I have a mesh lid on a 20 gallon where the front half opens.  Iggy is about 3" in body plus 3" of tail and moves like lighting.  Yesterday, he got out for the third time.  This time I didn't get him quickly or by myself.  After a chase around the basement, it was my cat who finally caught him.  I don't think I would have got him back otherwise.  I got Iggy from her and only saw one canine tooth puncture below the left back leg with a dash of blood and no other injuries (he was resting on the glass in shock at first).  I thought he'd be fine. This morning, there is a gaping wound on his tail that wasn't there after the escapade.  It is again larger this afternoon than this morning.  The tail is restricting (losing water and shrinking).  The bone is now exposed too.  It's my theory that he's losing the tail.  I know some lizards drop the tail when attacked.  Could this be a delayed response to that?  Do you think he'll be okay?  There's no way to give him oral or topical medications or shots without gasing/sedating him at the vet or something.  I don't know if they'd even see him.  He can't be handled/held.  He seems tired but alert and was basking today as usual.  Do you know how those with little lizards keep them from escaping?  I surely don't want this to happen again.  Thanks.

Answer
Hi Robyn,
Normally I would not attempt to answer a question on that species as that I don't have much knowledge on them at all. They can indeed drop their tails and its a species noted for doing so.
It can very well be a delayed response..or it could be that the cat actually did grab the tail. If you cannot pick up the lizard, I suggest taking some diluted Betadine (the color of weak tea) and spraying it on the injuries.  Do try to protect the rest of the tank from getting sprayed as that if I remember right, they do have a drier environment. Are you able to touch him with a cotton swab or something that you can apply some Neosporin ointment to the injuries?
I am sure he is still very shockey from his ordeal. Its really hard to say what the long term(or short term) affects will be on him.Have you tried to cover him and pick him up?  many lizards, when their head is covered, it calms them greatly.
As to keeping him from escaping....
Its something that can be a problem!!!  I've dealt with baby iguanas that are VERY quick on escaping. What I would do with them is to take a window screen that I could place so that the lizard could not just jump up out of the tank when I was doing something with them.  Also, I found a split screen that only a small portion would open at one time..they also make them with a small slider door..
Since the igs grow so fast, and are only in a tank for a short period of time(a few months) the real challenge is preventing them from jumping out open doors of large enclosures!!Here is a link that has pictures of the screen tops I mentioned.
http://www.strictlypetsupplies.com/616.html