Tortoises (and most other animals) are smarter than you think!
My husband, Micha, posted this on facebook earlier and I thought I would share it here:
Tortoises have lots of similarities to puppies and kids. We have Russians that live in our master suite- they have lamps and hides all set up (though they invariably prefer piles of clothes and such to hide in). Our most recent Sulcata intake, Havoc, is living in the rest of the manager's residence currently.
Weldam is the tiniest boy Russian. He is convinced that he should have free rein of the entire place, and he continually waits for any moment when the bedroom door is not closed or the barrier up. He makes a (turtle version of a) mad dash for the living room at every opportunity. He knows full well Savage is going to catch him and put him back if she sees him, so he does his best not to be noticed and makes a beeline for cover.
This morning, he had snuck out and was using the big tortoise's basking spot (which is no different than Weldam's basking spot, except that it is someone else's, so it must be better). I was letting him be, since Havoc was in the bird room anyway. Well, Weldam was chilling just fine until Savage came out of the bedroom. He saw her coming and knew full well she would grab him, so he immediately took off and tried to hide behind a potted plant so she wouldn't see him. :D
Just commenting on how much smarter they are than most people realize.
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A tortoise is my fiance's dream animal. She thinks she wants a turtle but is a little unclear on the difference and makes the mistake of equating the two. I have tried to explain that a tortoise may provide more opportunities for interaction.
Re: the intelligence of animals. I find the arguments that animals are incapable of reason and logic to be absurd. I once watched a crow in a parking lot as it attempted to retrieve the french fries from the bottom of a discarded McDonald's bag. After several failed attempts to reach its beak into the open end of the bag, the crow picked up the end of the bag and shook it to empty the contents on the ground. That is problem solving.
I love tortoises. They do require some specialized care (and LOTS of space) but they tend to be much easier than aquatic turtles for most people. Ours are all highly interactive. Crows are some of my favorite animals.