Snoop Dogg used to have a pet cockroach.

The 'Drop it Like It's Hot' hitmaker discovered an unwanted visitor when he first moved into his home, but after being unable to kill the insect, the 51-year-old rapper decided to adopt him instead.

Speaking to Canadian journalist Nardwuar, Snoop said: "Gooch used to live with me. In my apartment, I had a roach that we couldn't kill. We tried to kill the muthaf***** when we first moved in, and he wouldn't die, so we called him 'The Gooch.'"

Snoop - who has his own Snoop Doggy Doggs line of pet apparel - proudly told of how he used to feed his unusual pet and watched him grow to the size of a "whole dollar bill".

He added: "He just kept getting bigger and bigger.

"I stayed in that apartment for like about six, seven months — cuz grew to the size of about a whole dollar bill. … We used to leave food out for him and everything."

The 'Beautiful' hitmaker recently claimed the secret to his happy marriage to Shante Taylor is to always let his wife get her own way.

Snoop - who has Corde, 28, Cordell, 25, and Cori, 23, with his spouse and son Julian, 25, with ex Laurie Holmond - has been married since 1997 and revealed it's best to let his "soulmate" get her own way.

Asked what the recipe for a healthy marriage is, he told In Touch US: "Giving them everything they want, getting out the way, saying yes, yes, yes. I learned that by saying no, no, no and getting in the way. Experience is a good teacher. We've grown as boyfriend and girlfriend to grandparents to soulmates."

The hip-hop legend has five grandchildren and says he's not as "firm and direct" with his brood's kids as he was when raising his own.

He said: "With my kids, I was more firm and direct. I would just tell them to do something.

"But I have to do in-depth therapy work with my grandkids. Now it's, "No, you have to do this and then that. Do you have all these steps? OK, give me a hug."