Our girl had to have a leg amputation and we were given an e collar and told to use it only if she’s messing with it. They said between the pain killers and antibiotics she shouldn’t bother with it much but it was a just in case she does kind of thing. If he isn’t messing with it and you’re able to monitor him a lot to make sure of it then I’d say go with out, maybe use it on days you know you won’t be able to check on him frequently. We had to wait for her wound to completely heal because other gliders tend to mess with the “wounds” out of curiosity.