It's crazy how stores mark prices up for reptile/fish/animal supplies in general. I was buying some shrimp for my fish a while back and happened to notice a bag of shrimp while walking past the turtle stuff in the store. Same EXACT freeze-dried shrimp in a different package, but twice as much product for almost the same price!!! So now I shop around other sections before buying...
As far as removing heat pads, just go slow and be careful. From what I understand, those little heating coils/wires are extremely fragile and can break and not function properly if broken. Haven't experienced that personally, but have read a few different people say that has happened to them. Good luck!