please help

Iam sorry that i havent been on and kept up to date with the society much lately but now that i have my tank set back up and things under control, i need a little help.
So my issue is i'll be going on vacation down on an island in the gulf of mexico, I'll be down there snorkling and hopefully diving and i was looking foward to getting some small pieces of live rock, maybe a few blue and red legged crabs and a few snails. I figured it would be easier to send the package to a friend up here in the sates to start the curing process and to get the snails and crabs to be healthy and alive without bringing them in my luggage,
so my main concern is...
[list type=decimal][*]How do i go about packaging and sending the box[*]do i need any special permits or licenses to send the box[*]will customs take my box and pretty much make the shipping costs a big waste of money[*]is there any other documentation i need to worry about[*]will i even be able to get a box to ship them in?[/list type=decimal]
Any help would be very very very much appreciated, you guys and this society are my only hope..  Thanks Alot, Brock

 

I was thinking maybe theres some kind of permit and i could just bring them back, like the permits we can get here to ship and sell animals, or the people who sell them from other countries to america? i was thinking that the fact i wont be selling sothing might come into play as well. like what about when u buy live plants and things from ebay from other countries, they send mangroves and all sorts of stuff.

 

I will be shipping from out of the us, and i wanted to ship to the us... i just want a few pieces of live rock mostly, just to save the memories of picking it up out of the ocean.

 

+2 on that
I do agree I am not gonna end up bringing fish or snails back. I did however call the us customs agency today and talked to a guy who told me i could send rocks no problem at all, (shipping is a beast)  but snails, wood, and dirt/clay is not aloud to be shipped at all, i beleive i can get a permit to bring back crabs but they have the possibility of being stuck in us customs for up to 45 days, that pretty much rules out of the shipping threw customs via post office, although, i was told i can get a permit to collect and import "items" from a designated collection area, basically i will have to get a permit in the states (to receive the "items"), and i'll need a seperat permit from the vacation destination to the us (to collect and send the "items) so iam a little iffy about the whole ordeal........ i will however keep you guys(and gals) posted about if i figure out how and how much it takes to make it possible.   Thanks for all the help... You can never learn to much.

 

good thing i wont be in florida, haha, Its a little upsetting Since we live all the way up in the midwest, there is no ocean for us to release these potential saltwater "threats" into