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.
RE: Tortoises (and most other animals) are smarter than you think!