Colubrids vs Boids - Intelligence

[Bluebonnet Herp]

I know this isn't a snake but I kept a common snapping turtle years ago from the egg. I handled this turtle way more often than I have any other. When he reached about 4 inches he started to push his face into my hand when I'd pick him up. The first time he did this I didn't see it, only felt it. I thought it was his foot. When I looked down I was sure he was going to bite me. Instead he simply relaxed and went limp. He did this almost everytime I picked him up. If someone else picked him up he'd push his face into their hand and then struggle to be set free.

I highly doubt he recognized me although I'd like to really think he did. I really believe he learned he was safe based on how I handled him versus how others reacted to his "face bumps". I don't think this was a sign of intelligence but rather conditioning.

It's worth noting that he was, well, a turtle. Turtles are actually closely related to the archosaur taxonomic complex- they have more in common, genetically, to birds and crocodilians than to squamates. All these animals tend to show more awareness, social behavior and/or intelligence than the other reptiles. From what I know, almost every chelonian has a higher learning capacity and will at least learn to recognize people.

Edit: I've witnessed, on multiple occasions, that every time I add something new to my older ball's tank, she would, at some point, approach the object and "scan" (literally from top to bottom) the new object before going back to her hide. Also, once she gets going and is awake, she will try to exit her tank when it's open by approaching me from whatever direction I'm hovering over or on one specific side if I'm not standing next to the tank. I thought that was quite interesting. The other snake, though, is a panicky dunce.