How do I set the width of a collision component without changing the height

So I have setup a playable character using c++. The skeletal mesh I am using is a snake so I need a long collision component. I have tried to change the width to fit the size of the snake but it appears that the width cannot be bigger than the height. Is there a way to change the width of the capsule component without changing the height? if not is it possible to rotate the capsule component to fit the snake? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks